Where We Belong
by RedHeaded4Always
Summary: When we left Chad and Sonny, Sonny was leaving to pursue her blooming musical career. This is thier continued story of thier growing relationship, and it's difficulties.Sequel to The Chances of Happening. Read that first, it helps this story make sense.
1. Prologue Where We Belong

**AN: Okay everybody, this is the too long awaited sequel to The Chances of Happening! I know, it's been too long, but I wanted to get ahead in the story before I posted, plus I have a busy schedule, and it's hard to find a good time to write. But the good news is, when I do write, I usually sit down and whip out a chapter or two, which means when things get slow, I have a chapter on researve that I can just post :) **

**I noticed while writing this, that my chapters are becoming longer, which is a good thing! This chapter itself is 4,349 words, which I thing was around the length of my final chapter for TCOH (The Chances of Happening), and so far not a singel chapter has been less then 3,000 words. So yay! It's gonna be long! *That's what she said* **

**I'm really excited to post this, and I hope it is as well recieved and enjoyed as TCOH, hopefully better? I can already tell that my writing has developed since then, so I'm hoping this story will be better written :) **

**Just so you know, I have some interesting things up my sleeve for this story, some of which InspiredByTheCaliforniaSun knows about, and approved, which is good! I really owe her another thanks, she helped me figure out what music to use for Sonny's album (Which is all Demi Lovato) and why she might write the songs. They will slowly appear, but thsi story is a lot about the process of her album, so they won't all just pop out of no where. Ugh, I'm procrastinating the beginning, can you tell? Please let me know if you like it, I love to hear your thoughts! *Edward Cullen moment there...***

**Disclaimer- I don't own Sonny with a Chance, or Demi's songs. But I do own this plot line! **

Where We Belong

Sonny's POV

I unlocked and walked through my front door. Exhausted from my day, I flung my purse somewhere in my living room, and then fell onto my couch.

My new apartment was small and simple. Just what I needed. I looked around, only moving my head, at the white walls and the dark hardwood flooring. I had a little white rug in the living room where I was currently laying, and of course the couch I was on, which was a dark blue color. Across from my couch was a medium sized TV next to which was a library of DVD's. There were shelves and shelves, and even though I had moved into my apartment bringing many of them with me, my collection grew every day. The reason behind that was Chad. Everyday sense I have left he has sent me a DVD in the mail, which arrives at 5:00 pm, ready for watching after dinner. My total of DVDs from Chad was thirteen, counting today. That's when I realized I still had the small package in my hand, my DVD of the day. I had found it outside my door when I had come home from the studio.

I sat up, and slide my fingernail under the tape, lifting it, and then tearing into the small parcel. I took out the case, and read it. ' I'll See You in the Morning' The title made me smile, because it was true. Tomorrow, I would get up early, and drive to pick Chad up at the airport. He had gotten the earliest flight possible, and he landed at 5:30, just so that we could spend as much time together during our short weekend visit as possible. I set the movie down on the dark coffee table to watch latter, and suddenly received two tests. The first was from Chad;

_To: You  
From: Chad_

_Hey, just finished packing, c u 2morrow, bright and early! Love you_

Chad always wrote out the words love you completely instead of writing 'Luv U', he told me because his love for me wasn't abbreviated, and then had smiled at his own cheesy words.

I quickly replied;

_To: Chad  
From: You_

_I love you too! Have a good flight! :)_

Then went on to the next text which was from my brother.

_To: You  
From: David_

_Hey, I'll be there in five_

I knew the text wasn't meant for me to reply, especially sense he was driving and had already broken the law by texting and driving by sending me that message that was just how David was. I stretched out my limbs, trying to crack my back, and then shuffled over to my kitchen to pull out two sodas, on for me and one for him. David was coming over to help me clean up my apartment. That might seem weird, but we have been seeing each other so little sense my Mom and I had moved to California, that he took every excuse to come and help me out or spend time with me, even if he wouldn't like what we were doing. Like cleaning. I had just cracked open my can and set the other on the counter when I heard the knock on my door.

"Come in!" I shouted at him. David opened my door and stepped in giving me a look.

"You know your door really shouldn't be unlocked, and what if that hadn't been me?" He asked me, crossing his arms over in gray sweatshirt.

"Hello to you too." I smiled at him, ignoring his comments.

"Oh, sorry," He shook his head, and then awkwardly waved at me on purpose. "Hello." I laughed, and picked up his soda and handed it to him. "Thanks." He smiled, taking a sip and then getting back to what he was saying before. "But really Son. You should be more careful." David had called me Son for a long time, and it was only a nickname that I was called by him. This often had gotten us weird stares from random people who heard him calling me that, because they were thinking of the word being used in the wrong context.

"David, I knew it was you, you had just texted me from the road, which by the way is against the law." I pointed out the fault by him, and he just waved me off.

"Son, your only-" I cut him off.

"Seventeen. Not four and a half, and waiting for Mommy to come back from next door." He looked at me, sizing me up, and deciding if he wanted to pursue this argument any longer, and decided against it.

"Okay, okay. But just be careful." I smiled.

"Alright Vid, will do." I smirked, calling him by his nickname from when we were younger. In school, almost everybody called him Dave, so in order to be individual, I decided to use the last part of his name instead of the first. Ergo, Vid. "Now get to work." I hiked my thumb pointing behind me at the kitchen, which was a bit of a dishes mess.

"What? No way." He protested, setting down his can on the small table that seated four or five (when lucky) at dinner, and walking into the kitchen anyway.

"That's what you came over for, so that's what you'll do." I told him.

"You aren't going to help?" He asked, his eyebrows raising up into his shaggy dark brown bangs.

"I never said that." I laughed at him and threw a dish towel in his direction, which he caught without difficulty.

"Go turn on music." He told me, filling the sink with hot water and dumping in about half a bottle of dish soap.

"Yes sir." I saluted him and then left him rolling his eyes.

Back in the living room I pressed play on my I-pod dock, which immediately began to play my Glee playlist.

"No!" David shouted, and I laughed and changed it, not wanting to push him too far. I settled on a song by OneRepublic and made my way back to the kitchen, picking up two cups and a plate I had left around the room.

"You don't like Glee?" I asked him amused as I leaned against the door frame with the dishes in hand.

"Not really, but don't tell Sarah that!" I laughed, turning off the faucet, and looking at me devilishly. Sarah Jennings was his girlfriend of three years, they had been together sense they had met the summer of their freshman year of college.

"I won't promise you that." I smirked at him. "But how is Sarah? I asked. I really liked her, she was sweet, red-headed and fair skinned, and completely in love with my brother. And he with her. They were a cute couple to watch, David being is fairly muscular, 6 foot tall, dark haired, tough looking guy, and Sarah being a relatively short 5'4" innocent looking girl. But she brought out the charming side to him.

"She's great, told me to tell you hi, and that she would love to have you over for dinner with us sometime this week." I said, getting this cute smile on his face when he said her name.

"And you don't?" I asked him, mocking a hurt look. He shot me a signature look that said 'ha-ha your so funny'.

"Defiantly not. That would mean I'd have to clean our apartment too."

"Oh, well in that case, tell Sarah I'd love to come." I smiled sweetly at him.

"What ever." He scoffed. "Come do some cleaning for yourself. You haven't done anything sense I got here!" He complained.

"Fine, fine." I walked to his side, placing the dishes in the soapy water, and then bending down to get a dry towel out of a drawer. "You wash, I'll dry." I said.

"Just like old times?" He said, referring to our chores when we were younger, and living under the same roof.

"Just like old times." I confirmed. We got done with the dishes within the hour, a new record by far, with minimum casualties. David had dropped a glass while rocking out to Jimmy Eat World's 'The Middle', using the glass as a microphone and singing along off key on purpose, just to annoy me. When I was busy laughing at him, he dropped it and I had heard a crash, I had looked back up at him and he had this sheepish toothy grin and was shrugging his shoulders. "Don't move!" I told him urgently. And I had run off to my bedroom, grabbing my yellow digital camera off my beside table, and then running back into the kitchen, avoiding glass. David was still standing there frozen in his awkward pose when I snapped a picture.

"More pictures?" He asked later when we were sweeping up the glass shards. I shrugged.

"I'm just capturing special moments." I told him.

"Okay," He said in a voice that meant 'you're crazy'. "What next?" He asked when we were finished with the kitchen.

"Um, my room." I told him, heading in that direction.

"Why your room? You promised Mom he was sleeping on the couch." He said slightly worried. And then he grabbed my arm, stopping me and making me look at him. "Sonny." He said in a low voice.

"What David?" I asked, and then it dawned on me. Why he thought I wanted to clean my room. This was ridiculous. "No! That's not- I wasn't meaning- we aren't- no!" David was still holding onto my arm, giving me a stern look. "I promise okay? We aren't even like that, Chad is sleeping on the couch, just like I promised, just like he promised Mom." I said to him.

"Oh yeah, because if Chad Dylan Cooper promises something, then it's true." David scoffed, but let me go. He still wasn't over Chad's bad boy status as a celebrity, though those stories weren't really in the magazines anymore. I think David was just being overprotective like usual. So I told him that. " I am not. I'm just looking out for my baby sister." He said simply.

"But I'm not a baby." I said curtly.

"Your acting like one." He said to me.

"How is that? Pretty sure what we were just talking about is not exactly something a baby would do." He understood, and suddenly looked uncomfortable at our conversation.

"Sonny, just promise me you won't-"

"David! We aren't having this conversation okay? I am plenty old enough to make my own decisions. But because I know that you would be reporting that back to Mom, I can assure you that Chad and I will not be doing-" David clamped his hand over my mouth which turned the rest of my rant into "Mmpf!".

"Don't say it okay? You are too young to say that word." He told me. I rolled my eyes, and licked his hand. "Ew!" He shouted, removing it quickly.

"I wasn't going to say 'that word' David. And just for your information, I have said it. Many times." He cringed. "You are being so immature! What is wrong with you?" I was getting pretty annoyed with him.

"Nothing's wrong Son," He said trying to soften me up. "I, I just." He sighed. And then began again. "I'm just worried about you. I used to be able to keep an eye on you, and then I couldn't because you were in California. And then you started dating that guy." He spit out the last two words like venom. He still didn't like saying Chad's name. "And I wasn't there to protect you, what if something bad had happened? What if he hurt you?" I could tell that David was genuinely upset and worried about me. "DO you understand where I'm coming from?" I did, David had always been like a Dad when I needed him to. But now it seemed he was acting like one when I didn't need it.

"Yes, but you have to understand me too okay? I really love Chad. And he really loves me. We aren't planning on doing anything like-" David looked like he was about to cover my mouth again, so I quickly rushed out, "Like that." He relaxed. "But, when we do, it will be our decision, one that we will make together. But that won't be for a long time. I promise." I added at the end, hopping that would satisfy him enough to put an end to our conversation. It did.

He stared at me for a minute, taking in my words, and then moving to hug me.

"I thought you were suppose to be seventeen." He said to me, giving me a squeeze. "But I guess you just got stuck in a body that age. Sorry about what I said, I just still think of you as my baby sister, I cant help it." He gave me a sheepish grin when he pulled away.

"Apology accepted." I nodded. " And I know you do, but just remember I'm not." I gave him a sudden sly smile. "And besides, you and Sarah-"

"Don't go there!" He shouted, looking slightly appalled. "I am five years older then you. I am legal for everything, I can do whatever I want, and besides." HE grinned at me. "That's different."

"Yeah, right." I scoffed,. "Anyways, now that we have wasted valuable cleaning time, let's go clean the bathroom." I gave him a grin, and pulled him in the direction of the single bathroom in my apartment.

"Wait but Sonny?" I thought he was going to remind me that I had wanted to clean my bathroom before, but I was wrong. "Can we order some pizza? I'm kinda hungry…" I pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket, and dialed the number I had memorized of the nearest pizza place, I didn't really like cooking.

"Hello? Yes, could I get a medium pepperoni and an order of hot wings? Um, hold on." I looked at David, who was still standing in front of me. I covered the phone with one hand, and whispered to him, "Mild or Spicy?"

"Spicy. Duh." He laughed.

"Spicy." I repeated to the phone. "Okay, thanks." And I hung up handing the phone back to David. "You're paying." I told him, walking into the bathroom just down the hall.

"What? Why?" I crouched down and pulled cleaning supplies out from the cabinet under the sink.

"Because your older." I handed his a toilet brush and he grimaced.

"But you have a job." He said, lifting the lid of the toilet still looking disgusted.

"So do you Mr. Artist." David had gone to art school, and did a lot of painting or pastels. He was really amazing, and sold a lot of his work, he had even gone to an art show in New York last year with Sarah to show his paintings, and he sold some of them for thousands of dollars.

"Well, you're famous." He said, pointing the toilet brush at me.

"That means nothing." David snorted.

"Yeah right, every kid in the US watches you on TV. That totally means nothing." I went over to the bathtub and dribbled some bleach into it.

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that, actually, I have no idea." I laughed, totally losing my train of thought. "But I bet you will be famous soon too." David snorted again.

"Artists usually aren't famous until after they are dead." That comment got me thinking, my album, when it was finished, would need a catchy album cover. I didn't want one with my face plastered on it, that seems a little conceded. What if… yeah, that would work. But I would have to talk to Bill, my manager and the guy I had been emailing from Bloue Skie Records.

David let out a sigh and I looked up from scrubbing the tub.

"What?" I asked him.

"I finished." He said, flopping over to lay on the blue and white tiles of the floor.

"No you're not." I told him. "Wipe down the mirror with that bottle of Windex, and then u can go get fresh towels and hang them up, and then clean the sink." I told him.

"And what are you going to do?" He asked me still laying on the ground. I let the water out of the tub, when I heard the door knock. "I'm going to answer the door. Go ahead and add rinse out the tub to your list." I smirked at him as he lazily pulled himself up to stand and started his chores with a sigh.

"Wait," I said, and he turned to look back at me. I reached forward and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Thanks." I said to him sweetly and dashed off to get the door. Leaving him grumpily cleaning my bathroom.

I opened the door, and it revealed a teenage boy maybe my age. He handed me the pizza, and I handed him the money simultaneously, and then thanked him and shut the door.

"Pizza!" I called out to David.

"Give me a sec, I'm almost done!" I was very surprised.

"You are actually doing all that?" I called back to him, setting the pizza down on the table and walking into the kitchen to get plates.

"Yeah, you told me to didn't you?" He shouted confused and I laughed, opening a high cabinet reaching for a couple plates.

"Son! Use paper plates!" He reminded me from the bathroom. "I'm not cleaning any more dishes!" I laughed again, and shut the cabinet grabbing paper plates off the counter. David walked out of the bathroom shortly after, and snatched a couple pieces of pizza and a few hot wings to go on his plate. We went to the living room, and I grabbed the DVD Chad had sent off the coffee table and popped it into the player. Then I sat down next to David on the couch with my own pizza.

"What are we watching?" David asked, his mouth absolutely stuffed with pizza.

"Ew, you are so gross!" I wacked his upside the head affectionately.

"Ow!" He protested. "Hey, I cleaned you're bathroom! Cut e some slack!"

I ignored him. "I don't know what we're watching, it's one of Chad's movies." I sighed and David just stared blankly at me.

"He's still doing that?"

"Yes, I told you they came every day." He looked at me with an odd expression.

"But I didn't know you meant every day." He took another bite.

"Okay, well from now on, know that when I say every day, I mean every day."

"Noted." David smirked, just as the credits started rolling. Then the title came onto the screen.' I'll See You in the Morning' in a scrawly script. David choked.

"You okay over there Vid?" I giggled at his red face as he pounded on his chest, tears rolling down his face.

"Yeah, I'm good." He gasped. "That's the movie were watching?" He asked me incredulously.

"Yes." I replied curtly.

"You've got to be kidding,"He gafawed.

"Well I'm not, so knock it off!" I growled at him, turning up the volume.

"No way! I'm not watching this!" He exclaimed..

"Well feel free to go, you told Mom you were going to stay with me tonight, and then drive my car to the airport with me to pick up Chad! I'm sure she will appreciate you abandoning your younger sister." He started at me blankly for a minute, and then settled back into the couch hotily, to watch the movie.

"Fine, but I won't like it." He said grumpily.

He endured an hour and a half of a adorable movie about a boy and girl who fall in love on summer after meeting on a beach. They start dating and then the girl develops cancer. Every night before they went to sleep, the boy would whisper 'I'll see me in the morning.' In her ear. They get married, and have a baby together, but then the girl's cancer worsens and she has to go to critical care. The guy stays with her every night in the hospital, and whispers the same thing. Soon the girl gets better, but not cured, and everyone is happy. Then, at the end, they skip far into the future showing them as a much older couple, with the guy sick in the hospital. Right before he passes away, the girl whispers to him 'I'll see you in the morning'.

By then I was crying my eyes out, and when I looked over at David, he was a little misty eyed as well.

"Well," He sniffed wiping his eyes hurriedly. "What else do we have to do?" He stood and picked up both of our empty plates.

"Uh, kitchens done, bathrooms done, living room is," I looked around. "Clean enough. So, I just have to finish folding the laundry, and put it away." Secretly I added clean my room to that list, but I didn't want to start that up again.

"Okay, where's the laundry?" He asked, and I pointed him to the little closet that housed a washer and dryer. He went and stared pulling cloths out of the dryer, and I tossed the plates and pizza box he had left on the counter into the trash, and then cleaned up any leftover evidence that the kitchen or table had ever been used. When I walked back into the living room, I saw David with a full basket of clean laundry on the floor behind the couch, and he was steadily folding it and putting it into piles on the couch cushions while watching the news. I went and joined him.

"So what's new?" I asked him, picking up and folding a pair of my jeans.

"Sense you talked to me yesterday? Nothing." He laughed, folding a pillow case.

"Oh right." I said, laughing with him.

"Well, I guess there might be." David said after our laughter died down, his eyebrows creasing in thought. "Can I tell you a secret?" He asked me, his voice very serious.

"Sure Vid, anything." I said sincerely.

"Well, it's about Sarah." He started slowly.

"Oh my gosh! Are you guy's going to have a baby?" I blurted out excitedly.

"What? No!" David took a deep breath and was about to speak again when I cut him off.

"You're not going to break up with her are you!"

"NO! Son, let me talk!" He said a little frustrated, and I silenced. "I've been thinking, and I really love Sarah, so I think I'm going to ask her to marry me." He said quietly. I raised my eyebrows, but remembered how he had asked for my silence so I gave it to him. "Sonny, you can speak now. Please."

"David! I can't believe it! Are you serious?" I asked him eagerly. "That would be so great! Oh gosh, Sarah will be so excited! When are you going to ask? And how? Can I be in your wedding? I can't wait to go shopping!" I bubbled, usually I didn't act quite like this, but I was utterly excited. My brother is going to get married! Eventually!

"Whoa, slow down Son! I haven't even gotten a ring or anything." He said, looking flustered, but happy at my reaction.

"Okay, but let me know when you can okay?"

"Promise." He held out his pinky, and I shook mine with his in our agreement. Then he started walking away from the clothes, to sit down on the only part of the couch not covered in laundry.

"Hey, what happened to helping me?" I asked him, he pointed behind him and the couch and said "I left those for you. No way am I touching them." He shuddered.

"Fine, be a baby." I folded the rest of my clothes, including my 'undergarments', and then piled them all back into the basket neatly. "I'm going to bed." I yawned. "We have to leave by 3:30, so we have four hours to sleep." He nodded tiredly, and slumped over on the couch, stretching all the way across it.

"Night." He mumbled. And as I turned off the lights, and double checked that the doors were locked, I heard him snore.

"Brothers."I muttered smiling. I carried my basket to my room and put my clothes into my closet, then put away the books scattered around the floor, and threw all the crumpled songs under my desk, and moved my guitar from my bed to its stand in the corner. That was when I decided I was too tired to clean anymore. So I pulled on pajamas, turned out the lights, and crawled into bed. I laid there for a minute, and then jolted, I needed an alarm. I set one for three hours and ten minutes from now, at 3:10 on my phone and then almost immediately was asleep.

It seemed like minutes before the alarm was blaring in my ear, telling me to get up.

**AN: Woohoo! Chad's coming baby! *Yes, another that's what she said, I'm just full ofthose right now* I'm pretty excited, how about you? Of course I know what's coming, so I know what I'm excited about, but hey! You will soon too! Once I post the nest chapter! I hope you liked this one, it's pretty long, so that's a good point right? I know I have always liked longer stories, because I never want them to end :) Anywho, I'll post again soon, comment please!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	2. Chapter 1 Go Get Him

**AN: Thank you so much to all my reviewers! You were all so nice, and I love you guys! I'm really excited for this next chapter, because- wait for it- Chad's coming! Yay! Haha, but it's pretty cute, and again fairly long. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I got the plot, but ain't got nothing else. Sowwy :(**

Sonny's POV

I jolted awake, but my energy basically left me there. Living on only three and a half hours of sleep is not a good idea, just for future reference. I shut off the alarm, and then rolled over, expecting to be on my bed still, but I hadn't realized that I had been laying on the edge of my bed, and suddenly found myself falling to the floor with a thud and an 'Oomph!'. I heard pounding footsteps and looked up from the floor to see David come running into my room

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking for me, and then spotting me on the floor he burst into laughter. "You fell?"

"Yes." I groaned, pulling myself up with my elbow.

"Typical Sonny." David said in a sing song voice, and then he spun on his heel chuckling and left the room.

"So tired." I groaned to myself, then slowly stood up and looked at myself in the mirror across the room. My dark hair was everywhere, and because I hadn't taken my make-up off before I went to bed it was smeared on my eyes. I yawned and went into the hallway, and then took a left, walking into the bathroom. I flicked on the lights and started the shower, waiting a good minute so that it would be nice and hot. I peeled off my clothes and got into the steaming water, washing my hair thoroughly, and waking myself up by sticking my face right under the stream of water cascading down. After I was thoroughly cleaned, I shut off the water and climbed out onto the tiles to towel myself off.

Back in my room, I choose to go simple with my outfit. I picked out dark jean shorts that ended at mid-thigh, and a white v-neck t-shirt. Along with that, I grabbed a pair of grey vans, and then my grey purse off of the back of the chair in front of my desk. I looked out the window that had a view of the park across the street of the apartment complex. It was still pitch black outside, not a sign of dawn in the sky.

I quickly put on some light make-up, mostly natural looking; light brown eye-shadow, black mascara, and a bit of grey eye-liner just to bring out my eyes. I was satisfied enough with my face, so I threw my now dry hair into a pony tail, and curled it with my curling iron. Then I grabbed my purse and made my way to the living room, where David was lounged on the couch again.

"Get up Vid. We have to go." I told him, swinging my purse into his stomach.

"But what about food?" He asked me tiredly, getting up to stand next to me.

"We can grab something on the road." I promised, and he nodded his agreement. I walked to the front door with David in close pursuit. Snatching my keys off the hook next to the door, I looked around the room one more time, checking that it would be in order for Chad.

"You're house is fine." David said, nudging me forward. "I'm sure that C_had_," He exaggerated his name. "Will love it. Now let's go get something to eat." He said eagerly, rubbing his hands together as I opened the door and let us both out of my apartment. When I turned around to lock my front door, David stole my car keys from my other hand, and raced down the stairs to the parking lot outside my building.

"David!" I yelled through the hallway, but then smacked my hand over my mouth remembering that is was three in the morning. I giggled embarrassed and raced down the stairs and out of the building myself, before anyone went into the hall to investigate the noise. Outside, I saw David sitting in the front seat of my navy blue Jeep, he quickly beeped the horn once and made a hurry up motion with his hand. I scowled at him, and climbed into the passenger seat.

"So you are just going to leave your car?" I asked him as he revved the engine and pulled out of the lot.

"Yup." He replied.

"But you aren't coming back to my place with us are you?" I asked skeptical.

"Oh, did Mom not tell you? She wants us to bring Chad to the house for breakfast and what not. Then you can leave me there, Sarah has a car, and I think she is going to be there, so she can take me home after." He said, driving steadily to the freeway entrance, darkness and trees whizzing past.

"No, Mom didn't tell me that." I said, a little cross.

"Huh, well that's what she told me." David shrugged. "You could give her a call." He said a little mischievously.

"But its three in the morning." I pointed out.

"No," David said, grinning. "It's almost four. Besides, you are confused at the plan."

"You want me to wake up Mom," I thought for a moment. "What is this payback for?" That had to be the only reason behind his plot.

"No reason." He said, his sly grin growing. "Just do it." I complied and pulled my cell out of my purse and held down speed dial number 2. It rang twice and then I heard the sound of someone picking up.

"Hello?" Said a groggy voice, and I stifled a laugh.

"Hey Mom, it's Sonny." David chuckled beside me, tilting his head towards me a bit so he could hear.

"Sonny? What are you doing up- oh, right you're picking up Chad." She said, remembering.

"Yeah, David just brought something up, and I was a little confused, so I thought I would call you to clarify." My voice wavered a bit when I heard her yawn.

"Okay, what is it you're confused about?"

"Well, he said you wanted us all to come over to the house for breakfast. I was just wondering why I hadn't heard of this plan earlier."

"Oh, sorry sweetie! I meant to run it by you, but I've been really busy…" I cut her off.

"With what?" David frowned slightly.

"Oh, nothing, just, talking to your brother." I could tell she wouldn't spill anymore, so I let it go.

"Oh, alright. So after we pick up Chad, we are coming to the house for breakfast, and then leaving David there?"

"Yes, that's the plan. I'll see you later sweetheart." She yawned again and then hung up. I put my phone back in my purse.

"So, what has she been busy with you with?" I asked him, giving him a questioning glance.

"Wedding stuff. I mentioned asking Sarah to Mom to see what she thought, and she went crazy. Practically has a wedding planned already." His eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh." I couldn't really think of what else to say.

"Don't worry about it though, she's just excited." He shrugged,, switching lanes. "And besides, she sounded pretty tired to me don't you think?" The sly smile returned to his face.

"You are so evil." I shook my head and laughed.

"Hey, sometimes I have to be!" I retorted, laughing with me. "So, what kind of music you got in here?" He asked me, and before I could reply he added quickly, "And no Glee crap okay?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well in that case, we better settle with the radio then." I leaned forward and fiddled with the power button and tuner, until I found Kiss FM. Adam Lambert was wailing through the speakers.

"Fine." David glowered in the driver's seat. We sat, listening to the music for about ten minutes before he pulled onto the exit ramp. I looked around, trying to read the street signs through the dim light that was just coming over the trees in the distance.

"Food." Mumbled David, and he whipped his head around, searching for a place to get something to eat.

"Well you have a one track mind." I teased him, giggling.

"Hey, it's early, and I'm hungry, so sue me." He spotted a McDonalds and put on the blinkers to pull into the drive-thru.

"Really?" I asked him, smirking a little bit.

"Hey, if you aren't hungry, then you don't have to eat." He shrugged and grinned, stopping the car in front of the intercom.

"Hi welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order?" The crackly voice came over the line.

"Yeah, just give me a minute."

"Let me know when you are ready." The voice said.

"What do you want?" David asked me, and I grinned at him.

"The usual breakfast please." David and I had taken many road-trips that required us to get up early, so McDonalds was our go-to place for an early morning breakfast, but I still enjoyed teasing him about it.

"Okay, I think I'm ready now." He said into the intercom.

"Go right ahead." It crackled back.

"Okay, can I get an egg-Mcmuffin, a sausage biscuit, and three hash browns?"

"Certainly, will that be all?" Our order appeared on the screen.

"Yes, thanks." He replied.

"Your total will be $11.72. Please proceed to the next window." And the voice crackled out. David pulled forward, and the middle aged man opened the window and held out his hand for the money which David fished out of his wallet and gave to him. The man then took a bag of food from next to him and gave it to David as well as his change.

"Thanks!" David shouted out, and sped out of the drive thru, handing me the bag and getting back onto the road. I peeked inside, and found his food, the egg-Mcmuffin, and two of the hash browns, and tossed them into his lap. "Geez, you're welcome." David said sarcastically, and he took one hand from the wheel to unwrap his food. I did the same with mine and we sat eating and driving in silence except for the radio.

When I finished a crumpled my trash into a ball and put it back into the empty bag, I checked the clock. We now had twenty minutes before Chad's plane landed, I hadn't realized we had been driving for so long.

"Are we there yet?" I whined to David playfully.

"No." He said dryly, playing along.

"Are we there now?" I whined again.

"No!" David shouted at me, stifling a laugh.

"How about now?" I complained.

"That is enough young lady, not one more word from you!" David said strictly in a low voice.

"I'm tired, it's hot in here, I have to go to the bathroom, I feel sick, can you change the station? Are we there yet?" I complained droning on and on while fidgeting in my seat.

"That's it! I'm turning this car around!" David laughed at my antics.

"No!" I wailed, and then broke into hysteric laughter. David gave me a weird look.

"You okay Son?" He asked, still amused. I took some deep breaths trying to calm myself, and soon my laughter subsided.

"Yeah, I'm just really tired." I sighed.

"Okay, well you better snap out of it, because we will be there in five minutes, and his plane lands in fifteen." My face lite up in a huge grin, and David gave me a smile, even though I could still tell that he wasn't thrilled about the whole thing. I suddenly heard the song Dynamite by Taio Cruz playing lowly on the stereo.

"Turn it up!" David exclaimed. I did as I was told. "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes!" He sang obnoxiously, but he didn't have a bad voice. "Saying A-oh! Gotta let go!" He took his hands from the wheel, and put them above his head, doing some horrible interpretation of a dance. But if you can't beat them, join them.

"I want to celebrate and live my life!" I joined in, copying his embarrassing dance as he steered with his knees. "Saying A-oh, baby let's go!" David honked the car horn randomly a couple times, and then took a right, turning onto a street that started looking familiar. I remembered it from when my Mom and I had arrived here, and I knew it ended at the airport. My heart sped up as I checked the clock and realized I would be seeing Chad in only a few minutes. David was still singing when I interrupted him.

"Hurry up!" I nudged his shoulder next to me, and he gave me a funny look that involved rolling his eyes and sticking his tongue at me. "Just do it!" I leaned to him and ruffled his brown hair.

"Hey!" HE protested, moving his hand to his hair to try and smooth it. "I spent hours on my hair!"

"Oh please Vid, you didn't even look in the mirror today." I laughed at him. "But seriously, hurry up."

"You don't need to be so impatient Son, I wouldn't mind taking some more time to be Drama Free." He said a little too rudely for my liking.

"You haven't even met him, so be nice okay? Don't go scaring him off, or I will…" I thought about something that would make sure that David wouldn't do anything rash. "I'll give Sarah that home video Mom has of you dancing around the house naked." He glared at me, but nodded his head solemnly. I knew that would get him. By now we were turning into the arrivals lane, and then David was pulling over to be in-front of a door into the airport.

"Okay, go get him." He gave me a little grin as I hurriedly unbuckled myself and threw open the door, then slamming it behind me. As I went jogging through the door, I turned back around to wave at him, and he gave me a mocking wave back. After two and a half minutes of walking, I was standing in front of a baggage claim station labeled Private, searching for a specific blonde haired blue eyed boyfriend of mine in a crowd of people walking out from the terminals.

Chad's POV

I walked down the large hallway, not looking at people for fear of being recognized even through my sunglasses. I didn't; want to be delayed. I adjusted the strap of my black North Face backpack that I had over only one of my shoulders, and straightened up, trying to peer over the heads of people in front of me to look for her better. From down the hall I could see a brunette, standing with her arms crossed over her chest, scanning the crowd. I smiled to myself, removed my sunglasses so I could see her better and hooked them through the color of my green t-shirt. As I was nearing the end of the hall I called ou her name.

"Sonny!" She looked up excitedly, her eyes locating my face.

"Chad!" She squealed, and she started walking towards me. I jogged forward at a quick pace, dodging a few people, until I dropped my backpack to the floor by the baggage claim and gathered her into my arms, barring my head in her shoulder, with her doing the same. I spun her around gently, and she giggled, squeezing her arms that were wrapped around me tightly. "I missed you so much." I whispered into her skin when I stopped spinning.

"I missed you too!" She breathed at me, squeezing her eyes shut, and pressing her head into my chest.

"I'm here Sonny." I chuckled lightly, stroking her cheek.

"Just checking." She murmured, and then she stood on tip-toe, connecting out lips in a sweet welcoming kiss. I don't know how long it lasted, but it must have been a while, because when we pulled away there were a few people watching, and someone out there whistled shrilly. Sonny blushed as she pulled herself out of my arms, much to my dismay, but she remained clamped to my hand with her own. "What does your bag look like?" She asked, pulling me through the unfamiliar airport, towards a baggage station with a sign above it labeled Private.

"Um," I said trying to remember.

"It doesn't have your face on it does it?" She asked, in a serious tone.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, and smiling cockily at her.

"No, but you would look utterly conceded." She retorted, smirking at me.

"Well then it's a good thing my face isn't on it, although that's a good idea." I gave her hand a squeeze, and her eyes narrowed at me but she smiled brightly. "It's right there." I said, pointing to a navy blue bag coming around the conveyer belt. I released her hand and moved forward, picking up the bag and placing it on the floor next to me, pulling up the handle so that I could pull it behind me.

"Come on," Sonny took my hand back, "My brother's waiting in the car." That made me a little nervous, meeting her brother, but I put on a brave face and let her lead me out a door into the early summer morning air, and to a blue Jeep. Out of the driver's seat climbed a tall boy older then Sonny but looking very similar, with the slightly lighter hair and brown eyes. He looked like he could and would beat me up.

"Hi," He said, walking towards me and extending his hand which I shook. "I'm David, Sonny's brother."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Chad." I smiled at him, and he gave me a slightly menacing smile back, giving my hand a hard squeeze. I kept myself from wincing, but let go of Sonny's hand to rub my now sore one when David let go.

"Vid! What did I say?" Sonny scolded her brother, using what I took to be a nickname.

"Sorry Son, I was just saying hello." He said innocently, opening the trunk and putting my bag inside. Then he turned to me. "Did I hurt you?" He smiled fakley at me.

"Knock it off!" She said to him, and she took my throbbing hand gingerly in hers. "Now you owe us Starbucks." She glared at him, but in a sisterly way, while opening the back door and sliding in, pulling me to sit next to her in the back seat. I closed the door behind me, and David climbed into the driver's seat again.

"Do not." He replied, and then gave a confused look to the empty seat next to him, turning his head to look at Sonny.

"Nobody wants to sit next to you." She shrugged, and smiled sweetly at him. He gave a little scowl.

"Mature Son, but that's fine, I don't want to sit next to you, or-"He looked at me for a second. "Him. Anyways." Then he started the engine and pulled into the road, making a u-turn and driving back to the main road. Nobody spoke, and Sonny leaned her head against my shoulder and gazed out the window.

"There!" She exclaimed suddenly, causing both David and I to jump in our seats. "Turn there!" She instructed David, who complied, albeit confused.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Starbucks." She replied simply, nestling back into my shoulder.

"What? No." David told her.

"Yes. I haven't had coffee, and we have an hour before we get to Mom's house. Unless you want me to end up biting your head off, get me coffee." She growled.

"You could bite off Chad's head." He suggested, smiling to himself, but pulling into the long line at the drive thru. I knew David was trying to get on my nerves, so I tried to think of what I could do to get back.

"Well, you're related to her, she should bite off yours." I replied smoothly.

"You're dating her." He said, turning in his seat to look at me.

"You lived with her."

"You'll be doing that this weekend." He said, looking at Sonny and glaring, showing his disapproval for that idea.

"I have fans who care about me, I can't die." That one didn't really make sense, but I went for it anyways.

"I'm driving." That one didn't make sense either.

"I'm famous."

"Oh right, pull out the famous card right pretty boy? You do that in every argument?" We were both glaring at each other now.

"Both of you. Quiet." Sonny said, breaking out of her stunned silence. I thought she was going to yell at us more, but instead, she unbuckled, and leaned over David's chair in front of her, rolling the window down.

"Can I get a grande black coffee drip, a grande latte and a venti Carmel macchiato please?" She spoke into the intercom, from over her brother, who was still glaring at me. In our argument, I hadn't notice us make our way up the line.

"Will that be all?" the voice asked.

"Yes thanks." She said, and she rolled the window back up. "Okay, you can go again." She said, crossing her arms over her chest, and watching us intently. David blinked a couple of times, confused, and then spoke again, a smile creeping up his face.

"Or do you pay people to fight for you?"

"What? No, I can fight for myself thank you." I scoffed at him.

"Sure you can, and acting is a real job too." He rolled his eyes, and pulled the car forward.

"It is a real job, and it's what your sister does too, in case you didn't notice." I smirked at him.

"I did notice, but at least acting didn't go to her head. She still makes good decisions." His eyes narrowed more.

"That's good to here, sense she decided to date me." I pointed out.

"Yeah, I think she might have made one bad decision in her life." He said.

"Oh really." I growled.

"Really. And, what's your name again?" He asked.

"Chad Dylan Cooper." I rushed out, before I noticed that this was probably a trap.

"Yeah, that was the bad decision."

"Shh!" Sonny hissed at us, and pointed to the window. David rolled it down and got our drinks from the barista.

"Thank you." He said nicely. And then pulled back into the road. Sonny took mine and her drinks from the tray David had been giving and mine to me.

"Go." She sighed, and then took a long drink of her coffee.

"I'm not a bad decision. I'm a perfectly good person." I shot at him.

"I beg to differ." He snorted at me.

"Well I don't. I'm just like any other guy." I said.

"Any other guy without feelings or a real life." Ouch.

"I do to have feelings. And a life." I grumbled, looking away.

"Oh yeah? Then for what? What is it?" He asked me, turning his face back to the road.

"Sonny." I said quietly. I knew it didn't exactly answer the question, but David seemed to understand, because his malicious grin left his face, and he frowned as if in thought.

"Really?" He asked me in the same tone I had used.

"Yes." I said softly. David took in a breath.

"Okay. Sorry for all that. Let me try again." As he pulled up to a stoplight, he turned in his seat and held his hand out to me, I took it and we shook. "I'm David, nice to meet you." He gave me a half smile, still obviously happy with me. But my hand remained intact.

"Finally." Sonny sighed exasperated from beside me, and both David and I laughed. I took my arm and put it around her shoulders, pulling her to my side from where she was sitting in the middle seat. "That might have been the lamest fight I had ever heard." She grumbled at us, but smiled all the same, and snuggled into my side.

David was back to driving again, and he turned up the radio and hummed along to it, Sonny and I just sitting in silence for what lasted for forty five minutes, and then I noticed that she had dozed off.

"Let her sleep." David told me, turning the radio back down. "She was up early."

"I bet." I chuckled.

"So, you and her." He said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Be good." It took me a minute to understand what he meant.

"Of course, I wouldn't…" I didn't know how to end that, and I felt my face flush.

"And." He added.

"Yes?" I asked, anticipating who knows what from Sonny's big protective brother.

"Don't hurt her." He said sternly.

"Never." I replied, squeezing Sonny slightly in her sleep.

"Because if you do, then I will mess you up. I won't mind it at all." I knew he was serious. I nodded, and nothing was said until we were pulling into Connie's driveway.

**AN: Aw! Chad's so sweet! Aw! David's so pertective! Will they get along? Who else is at Connie's house? And will Sonny ever wake up? (The answer to that is yes... duh.) Find out next time on-**

**Where We Belong!**

**Tada! I liked it, did you? Tell me your thoughts, let me know what you think of the plot line so far, share with me your favorite color. Just review and make me the happiest person ever! I LOVE YOU!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	3. Chapter 2 Breakfast at Monroe's

**AN: Who you I love? You guys! Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you like this chapter too!**

**Disclaimer- Okay, Disney is nowhere rear cool enough to use this kind of plot, so...no.**

Sonny's POV

When I opened my eyes, I saw the light morning sun rays out my window, and the trees that lined our house's street dotting the road.

"Were here?" I asked, my voice cracking from my sleep.

"Yup." David answered me, putting on his blinker ad pulling into my Mom's driveway.

"Okay, everybody out." He said parking, and then opened his door to climb out when he turned off the ignition. I yawned and then quickly unbuckled myself, while Chad di the same. When we were out of the car, I stretched and took in a deep breath, it smelled like home. Or at least, my past home. The summer weather was creeping up in the morning light, I checked and it was 7 am. David had already strode over to the red front door of the white house, and without knocking let himself in.

"We're here!" He shouted through the hallway. a petite red-head came running down the hallway, and he enveloped her in a hug as my Mom came from behind wiping her hands on a towel.

"There you all are!" She said, patting David on the cheek when she walked by, and then giving me a hug when she came to stand next to me. "And Chad!" She said cheerily, and I turned to see him standing in the doorway looking slightly awkward. "How was your flight?" She asked causally, and moved to hug him too.

"Great, it was uneventful,." He said, smiling when she hugged him. My Mom could make anyone feel welcome, and David could usual do the opposite.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, taking the red-heads arm and leading her to Chad. "Chad, this is David's girlfriend Sarah, Sarah this is my boyfriend Chad." I smiled, and Sarah reached out to shake his hand warmly.

"It's good to meet you." She said sweetly."You too." Chad said to her, but looked at me with his eyebrow raised.

"We all wonder that."I said quietly, answering his questioning glance of how David could be with someone who seemed so sweet when he was the rough guy that he was.

"Wonder what?" David asked, but I ignored him.

"So, is there any food?" I asked, my light breakfast from earlier was wearing down, and I could feel my stomach being a little tighter with hunger.

"Certainly. Sarah and I have been pretty busy." My Mom smiled, returning to the rustic kitchen with David and Sarah following close behind.

"Come on." I told Chad, taking his hand and leading him to the room straight ahead where everyone else was congregating. I took a whiff of the breakfast smell in the room. French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and freshly made fruit salad. Delicious.

"Smells great. Is there anything I can do to help?" Chad commented, looking around the kitchen. I saw his eyes cover the white tile on the floor, and the gray marble counters. The oven was on a low heat, keeping food warm, and the table in the corner of the room with the surrounding wooden chairs added to the homey feel, and the vase of flowers in the center was obviously brought by Sarah.

"Thank you Chad, but no, just go and sit down with Sonny, David you too, Sarah and I can bring things over." She said smiling brightly.

I took Chad's hand again and brought him to the table, sitting down and motioning for him to sit next to me.

"David sit here." I patted the seat at the end of the rectangle of a table, so that he wouldn't be sitting next to Chad. At least I could spare him that. David raised his eyebrows at me, and flicked his eyes at Chad then back to me. I glared at him, which made him smile and he sat down where I told him to.

"Here we go." My Mom said, setting down a plate of French toast and bacon with one hand, and then turning back around to get the eggs and fruit while Sarah set juice, milk and coffee on the table, and then sat across from me. "Okay, dig in." My Mom instructed when she set down the final two platters of food. David jumped right in, scooping heaping helpings of everything onto his plate.

"Still hungry?" I asked him, laughing and he doused his French toast in syrup.

"Yes." He said, before shoveling food into his mouth.

"David honey, slow down, you're going to choke." Sarah said a little concerned, putting her hand over the one he had resting on the table. David looked at her, and then gulped down his mouthful.

"Sorry." He grinned toothily, making everyone, even Chad, laugh.

"This is great." Chad said, still smiling, and looking at my Mom.

"Thank you sweetie, I'm sure you were hungry from your flight." She smiled back.

"I was, thank goodness for you Monroe's" He chuckled, helping himself to the food we were surrounded by.

"Speaking of which." My Mom mumbled, giving a pointed star at David, who glared back at her.

"So," I jumped in, trying to change the subject before any questions were arisen. "What have you been doing lately Sarah?" I took a bite of my food.

"Oh you know, just trying to finally unpack all of the last boxes from our move. And still waiting for the company to call me back."

"What company?" Chad interjected.

"Oh, well I recently applied for a job in this company called ProEver. I majored in fashion and design in college, so I'm looking for a job in that industry." She explained.

"So ProEver is a clothing brand?" He asked her.

"Yes, but it also has lots of other products that is sells too. It's like a department store. Have you ever heard of Kohl's?" Chad nodded. "It's a lot like that."

"Ah, I get it." Chad said continuing to nod.

"When will they call you?" I asked her.

"They should call by Monday at the latest." David answered. "You should see her at the apartment, she's so antsy." He chuckled.

"Hey! At least I'm applied for a job!" She teased him, this was a regular argument.

"Being an artist is a job in itself." He teased back.

"You're an artist?" Chad said, a little surprised, but then again, a lot of people are when they hear that.

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?" He said to Chad darkly.

"N-no, I just didn't think…" Chad was not sure of what to say, and obviously uncomfortable the way he was wringing his hands.

David started laughing again. "Lighten up a little Chad, I'm just messing with you." He winked, and I knew he was enjoying toying with Chad's head.

"Oh." Chad said, laughing nervously. "Right."

"Well, what are you kids planning for later?" My Mom asked us, pouring herself another glass of juice, while David helped himself to seconds.

" I was going to show Chad around the studio, they wanted me to come in for just a few minutes today. If that's alright." I added looking at Chad.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Chad smiled at me, and I felt warmth spread throughout my body. We all ate slowly and in silence for a minute or two, and then Sarah spoke up.

"So, what do you do Chad? Are you still in school?" My Mom dropped her fork which clattered on her plate, I felt my jaw drop a little, and David laughed loudly. When I looked at Chad, I saw that his eyes were wide, but amused looking.

"No, I'm not in school." He said, smiling widely, he was taking this better than I thought. "I actually act on a TV show." David was still laughing, so I smacked him in the arm which only quieted him down a fraction.

"Oh! Right! I remember David mentioning that." She said in a 'duh' tone. "What is it, like McTrendsie's Balls or something like that?" This time, both Chad and David burst into laughter, and my Mom and I chuckled along with them. "What?" Asked Sarah, unsure about what was going on.

"Wow, that really should be the name of the show, I would watch that for sure." David gasped out, while Chad gripped the edge of the wooden table, trying to regain control of himself, and also choking a bit.

"Me- to!" Chad coughed out, and I gently patted his back in comfort. He took in some deep breaths, and then managed out, "It's called Mackenzie Falls. It's a drama, and I play the lead."

"Is it new?" Sarah asked, a confused look still on her face.

"No, it's been on for what? 18, 19 seasons?" I chuckled out.

"More or less." Grinned Chad.

"I will have to get you the season box set Sarah, you have no idea what your missing." My Mom said, very seriously. "Chad is very popular in Hollywood." She added randomly.

"You know, I thought you were familiar. So sorry, I'm sure I have seen your face on a magazine or TV, it just totally slipped my mind." Sarah said apologetically.

"No harm, I actually really enjoyed that. But really, I might have to take it up with the producer to change the name to McTrendsie's Balls." David and Chad started laughing again, when suddenly my phone rang.

"Excuse me." I said, scooting out my chair and walking into the hallway to take the call. "Hello?" I answered the phone without checking caller I.D.

"Sonny!" Exclaimed an excited Tawni.

"Tawni!" I shrieked.

"It has been way to long sense we have talked girl. Not sense you're going away party!" She said, reminding me of the cheesy party that she, Nico, Grady, Zora and Marshall had thrown me. It had been in the prop house, and it had consisted of watching every re-run of an episode I had been in, but I had loved it all the same.

"I know! It's so good to hear from you!"

"I know right?" She gushed. Typical Tawni. "So, how's the land of Cows?"

"Tawni, really you have to stop calling it that." I giggled. "But it's pretty good. Chad flew up early this morning."

"I heard he was flying out. Ew." She groaned.

"Tawni, come on, how can you not be used to the fact that Chad and I are dating? It's been almost half a year!"

"Yeah yeah, I know. But still, he's so…bleh. Anyways, everyone says hello, or they probably would. Marshall is really glad that he crammed in so many skits with you in them when you first got offered the recording contract. Have you been watching the show?" She asked me.

"Of course Tawni! I never miss it!" Marshall had us pre-taped about twenty skits with me in them before I Ieft, so that he could air one once a week. That way I was still in the show.

"Good, so you saw me?" Oh geez.

"Yes Tawni, I saw you." I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see.

"Yay! Because I looked extra pretty last week, with my super ultra skinny jeans? And I got a new case of Cocoa Mocha Cocoa!" She said excitedly.

"That's great Tawn! And I'm so sorry but I really need to get back, I'm having breakfast with my family."

"That's fine, I'll call you maybe tomorrow. Now go and get back to Chaaaad." She taunted, and then hung up. I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and returned to the kitchen.

"And then you could have an episode where you wanted to join the circus, but the only job you could get was being one of those girls in the tutus who ride the horses around the arena!" David was laughing, pointing at Chad who was laughing too, as Sarah and my Mom just shook their heads.

"Me? In a tutu? No way! I'd much rather be a clown! Can't you see Mackenzie with the big shoes and the hair?" He gasped out, holding his side.

"Or a trapeze artist, but you could fall! See? Mackenzie Falls!" The were full out hysterical now, barely breathing.

"And then the next episode could be where he is in a full body cast!" It was ridiculous to hear.

"What is going on?" I asked, giving both boys a skeptical glace as I sat back down.

"We were just discussing what would happen if Mackenzie lost all his money." David told me, grinning.

"David should really be hired as the writer; the show would get so much more interesting." Chad added, gulping down air.

"Why aren't you getting all defensive Chad?" I asked amused, he was never like this. "Your usually very protective of your show."

"Sonny, I have come to terms. My show, kind of stinks." He chuckled lightly, shocking me again. "I've grown up a bit, a realized how ridiculous some of the plot lines are. That's why I advised this season be the last." He shrugged.

"No!" My Mom spoke up. "You can't end it!"

"Oh, no I meant for me. For Mackenzie." Chad said.

"But, how?" To be honest, I was just as confused as my Mother.

"Well, I can't pretend to go to high school forever. So, we are going to change up the characters a bit. This is top secret, but Mack just might have a long lost brother whose middle name is Mackenzie, and now that David has given me the idea, I think Mackenzie will run off to join the circus and leave the new Mackenzie to the fall's fortune."

"Yes!" David shouted and pumped his fist in the air. Then moved to high five Chad.

"Well aren't you two all buddy buddy now." I giggled, but was honestly pretty happy to see that, Sarah smiled and winked at me from across the table.

"Alright, well I can't say I'm going to like it, but you do have a point." Said my Mom standing up and stacking everyone's empty plates. "You aren't going to look like a high schooler forever." She laughed, and took all the plates to the sink.

"No, because someday, no matter how far that day is, you will be a man." David said solemnly, and then stood to clear the rest of the table.

"I am plenty enough of a man. What are you talking about?" Chad protested, standing to pick up a carton of milk.

"Oh, I think you know what I'm talking about." David said in a low voice, his eyes twinkling devilishly as he smirked at Chad. I looked at his face, and watched his face pale slightly, and his jaw drop just a fraction. "Uh huh." David said, turning to the kitchen again where Sarah and my Mom were now washing the plates. Chad just stood there, stunned and shocked into silence by the meaning of my brothers words. Was he really suggesting that?

"Hey, what can I do for you?" I shouted at my Mom who was standing at the sink. I took the milk carton from Chad's frozen form, and went to place it into the fridge.

"Nothing sweetie, why don't you and Chad head out?" My Mom suggested.

"Are you sure?" I asked her, and she turned to look at me, with a knowing smile.

"Honestly Sonny, we have no use for you here. Now get going." She laughed gently at me. I went and gave her a hug, avoiding her wet hands, and then did the same to Sarah. David held his arms out at me and gave me a big goofy smile, I ran into his arms jokingly and gave him a big hug.

"Be good Son." He told me sternly after he release me.

"Will do." I saluted him. When I turned back around to get Chad, I saw that he had broken out of his trance and was smiling at me, amusement on his face after watching David and I. "Thank you!" I said again, and briskly walked over to Chad and took his hand, leading him to the entrance of the hallway from the kitchen. I was going to let us out myself, but David followed behind us to the front door. There he stretched out his hand to Chad.

"Good meeting you." He nodded to him.

"You to." Chad half smiled, probably not certain where he and David stood.

"I guess I will be seeing you then?" He asked, smirking.

"More often then you will probably like." Chad smirked back and they released each other's hands with small grins on their faces.

"See ya Vid!" I shouted over my shoulder as Chad and I made our way out the door, down the driveway and to my car.

"Take care!" He waved back, leaning against the door frame of the house to watch us pull out. After Chad and I where buckled in, with him in the passenger seat and I in the driver's, I backed down the drive onto the street and as I changed gears out of reverse I honked. I could just hear the sound of David's booming voice as he waved exaggeratedly and called at us;

"Make good choices!" And then laughed. I shook my head, and chuckled slightly.

"Sorry about him." I said to Chad as we drove down the road back towards the freeway.

"Don't worry about it." He replied, but on his face was an uncomfortable smile.

"I wasn't, but I still should apologize, he can be a lot to handle." Then I added, "We still aren't sure how Sarah can put up with him all the time." We laughed together quietly.

"How long have they been together?" He asked, making conversation.

"Three years," I replied cheerily.

"And he's going to pop the question soon?" I coughed surprised, but quickly composed myself.

"What made you think that?" I asked, feeling my brow crease as I focused on the road.

"Well, your Mom was being pretty blatantly obvious." He chuckled.

"I know." I sighed. "But don't tell him I told you. Because I didn't." I said strictly at him, making his smile widen.

"Of course not." We sat in silence for about a minute, then Chad spoke up again. "Truth or dare."

"Dare." I said, not hesitating for a moment.

"I dare you, to flip that car when we pass it." He said, pointing to a black convertible just ahead of us in the next lane.

"Way to get right to the nasty dares." But I sped up a bit, and turned on the radio as well as cranking up the volume so that the bass of 'Boom Boom Pow' was vibrating the entire car. As we were pulling up next to the convertible, I rolled down the window, and when the middle aged driver looked over to our ear splitting excuse of a car, I stretched out my arm and flipped him my middle finger. "Peace out sucka!" I yelled at him, throwing in Chad's catch phrase for good measure, and sped up ahead in our lane. Chad shook his head at me, and was shaking from his laughter. I turned down the music and returned the question. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." He said after a moment. Our unwritten truth or dare rules stated that both players had to answer the truth question. "Wuss." I mumbled at him as I changed lanes.

"Well?" He prompted.

"Uh," I was pretty focused on the road, trying to read the sign that was in the distance, and so I just said the first question that came to my mind, and I have no idea why it did. "How many kids do you want?"

Had cocked his head to the side to look at me from the corner of his eyes, I noticed that one of his blonde eyebrows was raised questioningly, but I ignored him.

"I want my own TLC show." He said, smirking.

"Okay?" I said a little confused. "That didn't answer my question." I put on my blinkers.

"So, I'm either going to have like," I could see him counting in his head. "Twenty five kids with one woman, ten kids at once, or multiple wives with a bunch of kids."

"You are ridiculous." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm kidding!" He defended himself, chuckling lightly. "Besides, you would obviously be one of my wives."

"Oh, thanks." I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

"Again, kidding. If I were to have kids, I would want two or three. Maybe four…" He trailed off.

"That was specific. And what do you mean if you were to have kids?" I said genuinely curious.

"What do you mean what do I mean?" He said, confusion crossing his face.

"Do you not want kids?" I knew I wanted children for sure.

"Oh, well yeah, I want another little Chad Dylan Cooper to be running around eventually." He laughed.

"Gotcha'." I said, leaning forward and squinting to get a better view of an exit sigh far in the distance.

"You okay to drive there?" I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'll take that as a yes." He said lightly. "Now you answer."

"Uh, I want two girls." I said, making up a number off the top of my head.

"That's it?" He asked.

"Mhmm." I answered absent mindedly.

"No way!" Chad protested, scrunching up his face.

"Why not?" I asked incredulously.

"Because. We need to have at least one son." He said matter of factly, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Cooper name must go on." He smiled, seeming to be thinking about or imagining something.

I was still stuck on one word from his sentence, kind of pleasantly baffled. "We?"

"Yes we." He scoffed, then glanced at me. "We." He repeated, slowly. "Right?"

"I'm not really sure what it is you're asking me Chad." A flash of hurt crossed his face, but he brushed it off before I had time to react.

"Never mind. It's we. Just you wait." He said over confidently. "Truth or dare?"

Our game continued until we were on my street to my apartment.

"Nico is really fly, and Grady is a nice guy." Chad said, then shook as if in disgust. I had dared him to come up with compliments for them both that rhymed. "Don't ever make me do that again." He joked, and I winked at him as I pulled into the parking lot of my complex.

"We're here." I said, shifting the car into park in an open space. We climbed out, and I popped the trunk so that Chad could get out his bag and backpack.

"Let's go, I want to see it." He said pulling me and his rolling bag towards the entrance. "wait." He said, stopping suddenly in his tracks. "Is it Chad-worthy?" He asked in a serious tone.

"Yes, it's Chad-worthy." I laughed at him, and pulled him forward.

Once I had lead him up the stairs, unlocked and opened the door, we stood inside and I swept m hand out. "Welcome, to my humble abode."

"Well, you could use more pictures of me, but it's pretty nice." Chad smirked, putting down his bags against the wall.

"Thanks." I said, moving over to the light switch to turn it on and illuminate the room.

"Couch is mine?" HE asked, pointing to the blue item of furniture.

"Yes, sorry. But my Mom and David were both going crazy on me." I sneered.

"Well they do have reason to." He shrugged, and I looked at him with surprise.

"What?" I said in astonishment.

"Huh? No, not like that, I meant like, well because…" He looked at me pitifully. "I don't know where I was going with that." He sighed, and drooped down on the couch, moving his feet so he stretched from one end to the other, and was laying on his side with his back against the back of the couch.

"Aw, tired?" I asked him, smiling a little, and excusing his earlier remark.

"Yes." He sighed again, and held out his arms to me.

"Is there something you want?" I giggled at him, cocking my head to the side and looking into his deep blue eyes.

"You." He groaned, and then yawned, opening his arms wider. "Come here."

I giggled and walked towards him, stepping around the coffee table, and then perching on the edge of the couch near his waist.

"No." He mumbled. And he wrapped his arms around my own waist, pulling me so that I was laying next to him, our stomachs and t-shirts pressed against each others on the wide couch seat. "There.: He sighed contently, as I put my hands to his chest, and leaned my head against his shoulder, his arms constricting around me securely. I felt myself tingling with happiness. "Now just stay here forever." He mumbled into my hair, and I felt his lips press against my forehead afterwards.

"Gladly." I said, my mouth brushing his neck as I whispered. "I love you." I whispered into his caller bone that was exposed from the way I was pulling his shirt in my clenched fists against his chest, trying to hold him as close to me as possible.

"I love you too." And he gently kissed my forehead again, and then trailed kisses down the side of my face until he pressed one sweetly to my lips. Bliss.

**AN: Aw! Cute right? Yes, I know Chad is a little OOC but he has to have a romantic soft side to him. Uh, will you make me happy? :) You know the drill,**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	4. Chapter 3 Sing Your Heart Out

**AN: This chapter is the first one with some of her music, it's all demi, and I recommend listening to the songs mentioned during the parts, I think they fit nicely and add to the whole effect :)**

**Disclaimer: Haha, I wish.**

Chad's POV

I nuzzled her soft brown hair by her ear, and she smiled against my neck.

"What time is it?" She asked me softly. I glanced down at my watch on my left wrist.

"9:30." I whispered back to her.

"It's so early." She sighed. Burrowing deeper into my shirt, making a laugh gently escape my lips.

"We could take a nap if you wanted." I told her, she could sleep, but I knew I wouldn't be able to.

"No, I have too much to show you." She said, groaning as she tried to get up, but found that I wasn't letting go. "Come on," She said, straining against my arms again, but I didn't budge. "Chad." She whined.

"Fine." I said, forcing myself up with her in my arms still, until I was sitting on the couch, with her in my lap.

"Fine." She retorted.

"Good."

"Good."

"So are we good?"

"Seriously, let's go." She urged. Standing up and out of my reach. I complained but stood up beside her, and followed her as she lead me back out the door into the hallway of her apartment complex. We walked back down the stairs, and out to the parking lot, where I was about to turn back to the car, when Sonny grabbed my hand. "No, this way." She insisted, and showed me around the building to a sidewalk that we followed for about 100 yards, until we were in front of a short but wide building. The second story was almost completely windows, through which I could see people working at desks and on phones. "This is the studio." Sonny smiled at me.

"Wow, is that what the 'Bloue Skie Records' sign over there is for?" I teased her.

"Oh, you're very funny Cooper. Come on, I'll show you around." She urged me, and I complied. At the large glass front doors, she took a key card out of the purse I hadn't noticed she was holding, and swiped it against a scanner on the wall. It flashed green, and made a quick beeping noise . I opened the door and held it open.

"Ladies' first." I swept my arm inside the door, signaling her to go inside.

"Age before beauty." She copied my motion, and I walked inside before realizing what she said.

"Hey! Eighteen is not old." I insisted as she laughed while walking next to me down a hall.

"Well it's older than me." She said, smiling.

"Yeah, by not even a year. That's a whole lot." I said in an exaggerated tone, and Sonny rolled her eyes.

"Wait." She reached out and stopped me from continuing to walk forward. "This is my producer's office. Bill Mason." She explained, and took my hand while knocking on the door three times.

"Come on in!" Shouted a gravelly voice from inside the office. Sonny opened the door and stepped inside, pulling me in with her.

"Hey Bill. " She said cheerily.

"Sonny! What are you doing here kiddo?" He paused when his realized I was there too. "And is this who I think it is?" A grin started to spread across his face; he stood up from the gray office chair he had been sitting in, and stepped out from behind his large wooden desk.

"Yes, it is." Sonny said sheepishly, turning her head to catch my eyes with her's. "I was just showing him around while he was up here for the weekend." Bill stuck his hand out to shake with mine, when our hands met, he clamped his other hand on top of both of ours.

"Well it's great to finally met the great Chad Dylan Cooper." He said kindly, dropping his hands, and I felt Sonny squeeze the hand she was still holding. "I'm Bill Mason."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Mason." I took in the man's appearance. He wasn't very tall, maybe two or three inches shorter then I was. He had on dress pants, a navy button down shirt and a gray suit jacket, and his brown graying hair was slightly thinning.

"Oh, call me Bill, everyone here does." He flashed his smile again, and I figured that was a habit of his. "Mr. Cooper, I am quite impressed with the amount of songs you have inspired for songs here." I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sonny who I caught blushing and looking away. "You have heard them haven't you?" Bill looked at me slightly confused.

"No, I had no idea that any songs were being written about me. I haven't heard a thing." I told him, and he looked taken aback but still had a delighted look on his face.

"Well, Sonny I'm disappointed! We will have to fix this problem now won't we?" His toothy smile flashed on his face once again, as he winked at me.

"What? No, we really don't…" Sonny said a little worried, but I cut in.

"I'd love to hear a song Bill." I smiled back at him, and when he clapped his hands once and swiftly left the room, Sonny yanked on my hand and glared at me.

"What are you doing?" She hissed, she actually looked really adorable when she was mad, that was something I had noticed early on when we had just met.

"I want to hear you sing." I shrugged and winked at her, tugging her to follow her boss out of the office further down the hall to an elevator. I still felt her eyes glaring at me, but I honestly wanted to see what she had written about me.

"The recording studio is upstairs, we can just have Sonny do a little performance for us." He smiled quickly, and then saw Sonny's expression.

"Something the matter Sonny?" The elevator door opened and all three of us stepped inside, as Bill pushed the button for floor 3.

"No, I'm just peachy." She grimaced.

"Sonny, are you saying that you don't want to show Chad your song?" Bill said, trying to figure out the situation.

"No, it's not that, I mean-" She sighed. "I don't know." She looked up at me, and I know she saw the kind of hurt expression on my face, which I quickly tried to cover up. Why didn't she want to sing for me? Did she write something bad about me? No, Sonny wouldn't do that. Would she?

"Oh. I get it." Bill said, looking intently at Sonny. "You're nervous." He said, slightly amused.

"What? No, pshh, no…" Sonny sputtered out. Suddenly looking away and not meeting my gaze.

"Sonny. Are you?" I asked her, and when she didn't acknowledge me, I took my hand and turned her face so that she was looking at me. "You don't have to be nervous." I said quietly. She blinked twice, swallowed, and then her eyes still boring into mine, she smiled.

"You're right." She said, determination blurring her eyes. "I don't." The doors to the elevator opened, and Sonny and I, with a still silent but grinning Bill entered the doors to the up floor lobby. There were red comfy looking chairs placed strategically around the room; in front of coffee tables with tabloids piled high, by doors, and the desk in the corner with an older woman manning it.

"Miss. Monroe, Mr. Mason." She nodded at them, and eyed me.

"Good morning, Alice. It is still morning correct?" He asked, looking for a watch on his wrist that was not there.

"Yes Mr. Mason. It's 10:15 on the dot." The woman, who I guess is named Alice said in her nasally voice.

"Thank you Alice. Oh, and while we are here, how about you have a clearance badge made up for Mr. Cooper here. That way he can just show up whenever." I thought it was odd that he would be making me a badge like Sonny had, but whatever, badges were cool.

"Yes Mr. Mason." And she started typing away at a computer.

"Now right through here," Bill motioned to a large wooden door, "Is RS 1, or recording studio one. This is where we have our top stars record." He explained, puffing his chest out in a boasting way.

"Okay, let's get this over with." Sonny sighed out, and pushed open the door. Inside it was painted navy blue, and all of the sound equipment boards and panels where white to match all of the other furniture in the room, including a couch, desks and several laptops.

"Wow, I like it." I nodded, taking everything in. Behind the desks with the sound stuff, was a large glass box, big enough for many people, probably a band or two. "Get to it." I nudged Sonny toward the glass box, and she glared at me, before proceeding to where I directed her. Bill went to the sound equipment and started to fiddle with it; twisting knobs and sliding switches in what seemed like a random order. But then her spoke into a microphone mounted to the desk.

"All set kiddo?" He asked Sonny, who was in the box sitting on a stool behind a big recording mic, tuning a black guitar.

"As ready as I can get." She rolled her eyes and glared at me again. I went and sat in a white chair next to Bill, and moved the microphone so that it was in front of me.

"I love you." I smiled at her until she smiled back. Sonny nodded at me, and then looked at Bill and nodded to him too.

"Catch Me." She said to him, and he smiled briefly, fiddled with a switch, then cueing her with a hand motion. Sonny began strumming her guitar.

"Before I fall too fast  
Kiss me quick  
But make it last  
So I can see how badly this will hurt me  
When you say good bye"

She continued her guitar chords playing out a soft melody.

"Keep it sweet  
Keep it slow  
Let the future pass  
And don't let go  
But tonight I could fall to soon under this beautiful moonlight"

She changed key, and strummed out something a little different, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bill turn a knob and a quite orchestra began to play in the back round of her song. Sonny looked right into my eyes through the glass before she began the chorus.

"But you're so hypnotizing  
You got me laughing while I sing  
You got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
And your love is where I'm falling  
But please don't catch me"

She actually smiled at me, and grinned so big that I thought she would laugh, and she played her guitar with more vigor.

"See this heart  
Won't settle down  
Like a child running scared from a clown  
I'm terrified of what you'll do  
my stomach screams just when I look at you

Run far away  
So I can breathe  
Even though you're far from suffocating me  
I can't set my hopes too high  
Cuz' every hello ends with a goodbye"

She took a breath, and the orchestra played slightly louder.

"But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing  
You've got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
Your love is where I'm falling  
But please don't catch me"

She winked at me, and loosened up a bit, checking her fingers on the strings of her instrument, and I just watched amazed.

"So now you see  
Why I'm scared  
I can't open up my heart without a care  
But here I go  
It's what I feel  
and for the first time in my life I know it's real"

Sonny strummed a couple more times, and then with the push of a button, a complete rock band joined in with her voice.

"But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing  
You've get me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
And your love is where I'm falling  
So please don't catch me"

She let the guitar hang from the strap around her shoulders, and gripped the microphone with both hands, looking at me smiling.

"And if this is love  
Please don't break me  
I'm giving up  
So just catch me"

The music and the echo of her voice faded out, and she gently caught her breath, while I clapped and cheered from my seat, Bill sitting next to me, giving me this happy smirk. I stood, and went to let myself into the box. Sonny was putting her guitar down on a stand, and turned when I entered.

"You are so great."I told her, sweeping her into my arms. "That was about me?" I asked, kissing her cheek.

"Yes, who else would it be?" She asked laughing, and swatted my arm. " I wrote it after the hike. So when I showed it to Bill, he thought I should use it." She explained shyly.

"Well, I loved it." I told her, kissing her forehead, and then she pouted. "What's wrong?" I asked her, worried.

"You keep missing. You got my cheek, and my forehead, but…" I cut her off by placing my lips over hers.

"Better?" I asked her, when we pulled apart shortly after.

"Much." She smiled. "But you really liked it?" She asked me, staring intently at my face trying to read my reaction.

"No." I said, and I saw her face fall so I quickly finished my sentence. "Sonny I told you, I loved it. I don't like it, I love it." She breathed out in relief.

"Alright, good."

"So what do we do now?" I whispered.

"What do you want to do?" She whispered back to me, and then added. "And why are we whispering?"

"I don't know, but, what other songs have you written?" I really wanted to see what else she had come up with.

"All of my songs are at my apartment. If we go back I can show you." Then a little louder she shouted, "Is that okay Bill?" I looked out the glass, remembering that we weren't the only people here right now.

"That would be fine kiddo, we didn't need you today, but just so you know, this recording is great. I think we might use this one for your album." Bill's voice boomed from the overhead speakers, and he gave us a thumb up from the other side of the glass. Sonny took my hand, and trailed me behind her as we made our way out of the box, and the recording room behind Bill. Back in the lobby, the secretary spoke up.

"Here's the pass you wanted Mr. Mason." She held out a rectangular piece of plastic, which Bill took in his hand, then spun around to me and handed it over. I looked at it and it read 'Chad Dylan Cooper' and had a picture of me, which looked like a picture from a magazine that was cropped to show just my face.

"Thank you." I said to both Bill and Alice, who both nodded back to me.

"No problem Chad, I would love to have you around more, maybe even record something?" So that was his ploy.

"Oh, I'm not sure about that Bill."I chuckled lightly, and was glad that I was a trained actor. "I think I will stick to my scripts, but thanks for the offer." Bill smiled, but still seemed a little disappointed.

"Of course, but if you ever changed your mind…" Bill left off the rest of his sentence, letting me know that the offer was still out there.

"Then I will come right to you." I promised, and Sonny giggled softly from next to me.

"Thank you for letting us come it Bill" She said to him, letting go of me, and moving to give the man a hug.

"Anytime kiddo, you are always welcome here." He said brightly. "Great job today too. Maybe Chad should be here for all of the recordings." He winked at me.

"Only if you want me to freakishly nervous every time I sing the songs." She said, shifting her eyes to me. "But thanks again, and I'll see you on Monday!" She told him, waving me over to her as she walked to the elevator.

"Thank you!" I shouted over my shoulder, waving the badge.

"Bye kids, be good!" I think I saw him wink again, but I couldn't be so sure. When the elevator doors closed with Sonny and I inside, she spoke up.

"Why does every adult assume that we are going to-" I knew what she was talking about.

"I have no idea. Perhaps they assume that I'm just so good looking that you won't be able to resist me." I ginned flirtatiously at her, and she blushed but smacked me all the same.

"Yeah, that's it. It's not that we are teenagers, staying unsupervised at an apartment together." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, is that it?" I smiled at her. "Well that's not nearly as good as my reasoning for it." We laughed together, and happily walked out of the elevator together, while Sonny led me down the maze of halls and out into the fresh summer air. "So what am I exactly supposed to do with this?" I asked her, swinging my new badge in front of her face.

"I honestly have no idea. He probably wants to get you to record something, so he's trying to be nice and pull you in." She laughed. "That makes him seem so greedy, like all he wants is to make money off of his singers."

"Is that what he's like?" I questioned her as we walked down the sidewalk back towards her apartment. I was worried Sonny might be working for somebody horrible.

"Oh! No, not at all! He's a really nice guy, but he has a really good sight to seeing what is going to be popular. He probably sees you as being valuable in the record world in the future. But really, he's very kind and helpful. He knows his music really well." She smiled, and I became content by her reassurance that her boss wasn't a power hungry evil man.

"Alright, well good."

"Worried about me?" She giggled and I nudged her from the side.

"Just a little." I muttered, smiling slightly.

"Good." She grinned at me, her eyes lighting up.

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good!"

"Good!"

"So are we-" But I cut her off. We were standing in front of the entrance to her building, and I wrapped my arms around her waist tightly. I kissed her, softly at first, but after her surprise wore off, she kissed me back and deepened the kiss. After a long moment, and some slightly heavy breathing, I spoke to her, with her face still only inches from my own.

"I think we're pretty good." She only nodded in response.

**AN: Mmm, Chad. :) Well what did you think? Let me know, becasue I want to hear your ideas for the stories future, and how you think I'm doing!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	5. Chapter 4 Lazy Saturday

Sonny's POV

Chad and I were sitting in my apartment, I on the couch, reading a magazine, and Chad leaning against my legs while sitting on the floor on his laptop that he brought checking the blogs.

"Anything good?" I asked him, pausing from my article about octo-mom possibly wanting more children.

"Only if you consider me good." He smirked, scanning the page he was reading, and then craning his neck around to look at me. "Which you should."

"Don't worry, I do." I laughed heartily. "What are they saying about you?" They being the paparazzi.

"Just that I'm looking very attractive lately, and…" I could tell he was reading. "No!" He said in a shocked voice that made me whip my head up from my magazine and look over his shoulder to the Tween Weekly website opened on his screen.

"What?" I asked worried.

"Somebody leaked the plot line for Mack Falls." Chad pouted, but then brightened. "Oh, well. That means I can tell you now, if anyone asks you read it off the blogs." I smiled and nodded.

"Okay, well I already told you the basic stuff." Chad said, putting down his lap top next to him on the floor, and standing to sit next to me on the couch. "You know, how Mackenzie has a younger long lost brother who is going to take over the falls for him when Mack decides he doesn't want to deal with it all anymore." He was about to continue, but I interrupted.

"Does he end up with Chloe?" I asked eagerly.

"Don't butt in. I was going to get to that." But I interrupted again.

"Does he?"

"Is that all you care about?" Chad chuckled. I thought for a moment.

"Kinda" I said sheepishly.

"Okay then, I'll just skip to there. Anyways, yes he ends up with Chloe. That's one of the reasons Mack leaves, because e is tired of everyone judging her and him because of her. So he and Chloe run off together, and I think I am going to talk to the writers and make sure Mack joins the circus because it's always been his secret passion. We could dedicate the chapter to David, your brother has some hilarious ideas for the show. Plus it's the last season for my character, I could care less what happens to him."

"Aw, Chad that's not true." I scolded.

"Okay, your right, it did give me my big start, but I'm a legal adult now, I don't need to play a high schooler."

"Zac Efron did." I pointed out, purely to make him tick. "And he was twenty one in High School Musical."

"Well I'm not Zac Efron! I am way more mature then him, so I am going on to do more mature things!" He protested. I simply laughed.

"Chad, sweetie calm down." I giggled a bit longer while he huffed next to me. "You are way better then Zac Efron." I rubbed his back gently in circles to help calm him down.

"Really?" He asked me, looking from the corner of his eyes.

"Yes. Really." I nodded confidently.

"Okay, good." Chad sighed. I leaned my head to his shoulder, and this time he rubbed my back soothingly. We sat quietly for a couple of minutes, and then Chad spoke up again. "Can I see those songs now?" When we had first gotten back to the apartment, we had decided to be lazy and lounge on the couch, eating contently out of a bag of lays I had. Yes, it was still early, but we had been up for a while. Also, I was worried about what Chad would think about them, so I didn't mind procrastinating.

"Sure." I said uncertainly. "They're in my room." I stood and brushed myself off. Then padded barefoot across the hard wood floors to my room down the hall, and I listened to Chad's sock covered feet follow in pursuit.

"Slow down!" Chad said, speeding up behind me, as I darted into my room. When he was about two feet away from my bedroom door, he sprinted, and then slid across the floor of my room on his socks, whilst crashing into me in the process. He slammed into me, knocking me backwards onto my bed, with him on top of me. For other people, this might have been an awkward situation to be in, to end up on your bed with your boyfriend lying on top of you. But Chad and I were so comfortable that we didn't mind, we only laughed at the ridiculousness. Then Chad stopped and watched me, I was laughing so hard that I couldn't get myself to stop at the same time. Chad propped himself up using an elbow while still laying on me with the front of our t-shirts pressed together. His smile changed to a look of amusement as a single tear streaked down my face from my uncontrollable laughter. Eventually my breathing returned to normal, and my bouts of giggles became more spaced out in between. Still grinning, Chad moved the hand that wasn't cupped under his chin and wiped away the tear that was still sitting on my cheek, then he leaned forward a fraction and kissed the tip of my nose.

"You're beautiful you know." He whispered, searching my face until I was staring straight into the bottomless blue pools that were Chad's eyes. "Honestly, I don't know how I got lucky enough to get you." This time, I smiled at his words and actually almost cried. I was happy of course, but still, this was a different surprise then being pounced on.

"It's not luck." I whispered back, and I heard my voice waver on the word luck, so I swallowed trying to regain my composer. "It's fate Chad. There is no way I would want to, or could be with then you. I can't see it any other way." Chad kissed me gently on the lips, and then took his elbow out from under him and laid his head down on my shoulder. "What are you doing?" I giggled lightly, and I saw Chad's face light up a bit.

"I'm listening." He said, and then added a 'Shhh!'

"I'm not a radio, I'm not sure what you could be listening to."

"You're heart. Sonny, I'm listening to your heart." He said in an even tone, but smiled.

"You can take it." I told him. And he lifted his head from my left shoulder to look at me with his confused expression spread across his face. "It's yours already anyways." He kissed my nose again.

"I think we might be two of the cheesiest people on earth." Chad said lightly. "We should have our own movie. Or TV show."

"Chad, you are on a TV show. And so am I, I'm just on a long break."

"Right." Chad mumbled. He pressed his forehead to mine, and we just swam in each other's eyes. Then Chad suddenly moved and kissed me swiftly on the lips before he bolted up and held his hand out to me. "Let's see your music." I grumbled incoherently, but took his hand and he pulled me up from where I was laying on my back. I stood and walked slowly to my desk in the corner, where my white guitar was propped up against the wall, and sheet music was spread over the surface of the dark wood where I wrote my music. I sweeped my hands out at the piles of music.

"Tada!" Chad gave me a look, and stepped forward to pull out the chair which he sat on.

"Come here." He told me, patting his lap, and I obeyed. "Now show me." I sighed .

"I don't have a lot written. I started a few songs, but most of this-" I paused looking for a word. "stuff, are just mess ups." Chad reached his arm around me and picked up a sheet of music off of the desk.

"So Far So Great?" He asked, reading the title.

"Oh, yeah." I snatched it out of his hand.

"No, give it back! I was reading it!" He snatched it back, and I glowered on his lap. "Don't get grumpy. It's good." He said, and I watched his eyes dart from side to side as he read the words I had written. "It's about when you joined So Random! right?" I was surprised he had noticed the meaning behind my song.

"Yeah, good guess." I said.

"I didn't guess Sonny." He chuckled. "Your lyrics did their job and brought your message across. It's as simple as that." He looked at my face and frowned. "You are being way too hard on yourself." He was right, I shouldn't doubt myself so much, but I couldn't help it. I was a really self conscious person. "Are you going to put Me, Myself, and Time on your album too?" He asked, and I was grateful that he changed the subject.

"Yes, it already made the cut. So far, that and Catch Me are the only songs on it." I explained to him.

"Wow, short album." He smirked and I wacked him in the arm. "Ow!" He whined.

"I said so far. There's plenty of other songs I could put on. And I'm still writing." I glared at him playfully.

"I know that Sonshine, I'm pretty sure that no record company in their right mind would produce an album with two songs." He rolled his eyes, but nuzzled my neck. " What other songs are you writing?"

"Um," I had one other, but it wasn't completely finished. "Nothing." I said quickly, and Chad eyes me.

"You're lying." He said, his eyebrows scrunching up and his lips pursing. "But you don't have to tell me. I get it." I felt bad, but the song wasn't ready to be seen or heard by anyone other than me for the time being. Especially because I was currently sitting in the lap of the person it was about.

"Hey, do you feel like going on a walk?" I asked tentatively, wondering if he was going to press the matter.

"Sure." I replied, standing up and pushing me up at the same time.

" There's a park across the street we could go to." I told him, as he slowly sauntered towards the door. I saw him nod ahead of me, but I soon found my eyes drawn down away from the back of his head. He was fine, I can tell you that. And at that slow pace… Well, you know what I was thinking.

"Have you seen my shoes?" He asked me, turning, and then when I brought my eyes up to his, he smirked wildly at me. "Checking me out?" He questioned me, crossing his arms over his chest, and leaning against the wall.

"Just a little." I blushed at being caught.

"Mhmm. That's what I thought. Did you get a good look?" His grin was turning slightly malicious, and he pulled one side higher than the other giving him a really attractive crooked smile. I blinked once, twice, and then thought of how to reply. Revenge. I stepped towards him, until I had to jerk my head back in order to see his face, and I placed my hands palm down on his hard chest. I remained silent, and trailed my fingers ever so lightly down his front to his abs, feeling him breath in and out at increasing intervals. I felt the back of my knees start to tingle at the contact, and I felt Chad shudder as I played my fingers across the top edge of his belt. Why was I doing this again? I couldn't help it, I don't know what was coming over me, but whatever it was possessed me to daringly say what came out of my mouth next.

"Yeah, but I was hoping to see more." I stood up on tip-toes to kiss his neck, and the skin exposed from his v-neck t-shirt. I felt him breath out raggedly.

"S-sonny. Stop." I did as I was told, almost appalled with myself. I pulled back abruptly, dropping my hands to my sides, feeling a little hurt but also relieved at Chad's words. He leaned back, and I heard his head bump the wall behind him as he leaned heavily against it. He took several deep breaths, getting control of his breathing back.

"I'm sorry." I said clenching my eyes shut and shaking my head to rid myself of what I had been thinking.

"No, Sonny don't be sorry." He pulled his head forward to look at my now open again eyes, and must have read something in them. "And don't be upset, please?" He stepped towards me placing his hands delicately on the tops of my arms, looking down at me. "Please don't be mad at me." He said quietly, I hadn't realized that I looked or felt angry.

"Chad, I'm not-" But he cut me off.

"No, just listen. I- I wanted to- to do that, but you surprised me and I don't want to get ahead of ourselves and do anything we would regret later and-" It was my turn to cut him off.

"Your right, I don't know what that was." I looked down at my bare toes. Chad sighed, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw him run a hand through his blonde hair.

"I just don't think either of us is ready to-"

"Yeah."

"And like I said, you surprised me and I wanted to but I didn't know if I could stop, I mean I am a guy and guys just-" He was rambling now, that meant he was getting nervous.

"Chad, Chad! Stop acting like you're Edward Cullen." He stopped mid ramble and just stared at me. Then he cracked a smile. "You aren't a vampire. If something escalated to that I think you or I could stop, but we don't have to worry about anything like that because that isn't going to happen for a million years." I finished, throwing in a couple jokes to lighten the tense mood between us.

"A million years? I don't think I could wait quite that long."

"Let's just go." I laughed.

"How about just five or six years?" He said, in a serious voice, but I didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"How about when your 54."

"How about four years?"

"How about never." I snapped. But then I giggled so that Chad wouldn't take it personally.

"Okay, let's go." He said, I think finally realizing that I was done. He located his shoes in the corner, and then put them on and took my hand, the two of us walking out the door and down the stairs toward the park.

Outside the warm afternoon sun was glistening down upon us, it was only about 12:30, we walked hand in hand across the street to the green wide open plot of land. Summer flowers were in bloom and I could smell them from the middle of the road. I heard Chad sniff beside me.

"You smell that?" He asked me, his blue eyes causing the sunlight to glare.

"Yeah. Aren't they beautiful?" I smiled but he gave me a really wired surprised face.

"Uh, sure I guess, but you only end up eating them…" Now it was my turn to give the puzzled stare as we walked past the entrance of the park.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Be both asked at the same time.

"Flowers." "Hot-dogs."

"What?" We said again.

"Go ahead." I told him.

"There's a hot-dog stand over there.' Chad pointed to a little cart down the asphalt pathway.

"Oh," I chuckled at our stupidity. "I was smelling the flowers over there." I pointed in the opposite direction.

"I get it." Chad chuckled. "But, I am starving, I am in need of a hot-dog, not a flower. Sorry." He smiled at me, and tugged me towards the stand. When we stopped abruptly in front of the little old man running the cart, he looked up from his rotisserie and met my eyes.

"Sonny!" He said my name, but because of his accent said it more like Sun-neigh! "The usual no?" He asked me, starting to put a hot-dog into a bun and preparing it with my regular toppings. Chad looked at me quizzically. "And who is this fellow?" Frank grinned at me, and winked. "This is the Chad Dylan Cooper?" I blushed deeply.

"Yes." I croaked out, taking the hot-dog frank handed me from his slightly pudgy hand.

"And what can I get'a for this lovely man right here?" Frank asked Chad, gesturing at him wildly.

"Oh, uh, can I get what Sonny has?" He asked, and I could tell he was stifling a laugh.

"Certainly! Anything for pretty Sonny and her beau." Frank winked again, and started making another hot-dog identical to my own.

"So, does Sonny come here often?" Chad asked the short Italian man.

"Often? I am surprised if she does not come at least once every other day. She does not'a like to cook so much." He said, putting the finishing touches of relish on the dog and handing it to Chad. Both Chad and I started to reach for our wallets, and were about to protest to each other when we were interrupted. "Oh no, no, no. It's on'a Frank this time." He said, slapping his huge hands to his chest. "I know Sonny has'a missed the Chad Dylan Cooper." He shooed us off and we rushed our thank yous and good-byes as we walked down the path.

"So." Chad said after taking a bite and cocking his head grinning wildly. "You go there often?" He tried to copy Frank's accent.

"Okay, you know what, I don't like to cook for just one person all the time, so sometimes I just come down here and get some food." I turned away. "But I'll stop because I think they are starting to catch up with me." I looked down at my stomach and sighed silently. Chad grabbed my shoulder.

"Don't ever say that." He told me, a sudden sternness to his voice. "You aren't fat, you don't need to loose weight. So don't even start there. I have seen tons of people starve themselves because once they get into our type of business they feel like they have to look breakable to be pretty." I was kind of shocked by Chad's insight.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking into Chad's eyes, trying to figure out what exactly, or who he was talking about.

"My mom." He answered my question. "She was, is anorexic. I'm not really sure that it ever goes away. But, she's getting help, she's better, so don't say sorry again." He told me in a quieter tone. I nodded, and we finished what was left of our hot-dogs in silence. But then I saw it. And I ran.

**AN: Sorry its been so long, I've been busy! Anyways, hope you liked it!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	6. Chapter 5 Mhmmm

**AN: Omg, something happened with my computor, and I just got around to fixing it, but it switched a bunch of my documents around, and uploaded different chapters then it was supposed to. So it seems you guys had a sneak peak of the chapter after this one, but this is the real CHAPTER 5. So sorry about that!**

Chad's POV

"Sonny!" I yelled, when she took off. She ran away from me, and I couldn't stand for that. "Sonny! Where are you going?" I shouted, and ran after her. She was laughing, I could hear he, and then she whipped her head around and jogged backwards a few steps, waiting for me to catch up. "What was that?" I asked her when I caught up.

"I'll race you to the swings." Was all she said, then she took off again. This time, I knew where she was going so I ran towards the red and blue swings ahead. "Ha! I win." She said triumphantly, and sat on a swing. I sat down in the one next to her and smiled. "What?" She asked me.

"Nothing, I'm just noticing how cute you are when you get excited about little kid toys." I ended my sentence with a smirk.

"Oh right." She rolled her eyes but her face crinkled into a smile as we both pushed off and started swinging, we were both laughing profusely, and then we started swinging in tandem. "You know what this means right?" Sonny asked me, giving me her own smirk.

"What?" I asked, I had never really been on a swing before.

"Well, it means were married." She stuck her tongue at me, and I had a feeling that a dumbstruck look had crossed my face. This was the second time today that something Sonny had said made me think about a future with her. Earlier in the car she had mentioned children and I had thought about miniature half-Sonny half-Chad's running around. Then just now she made me image her in a white dress. This was ridiculous, I was 18, nobody at 18 thinks about marriage right?

"Chad, it's just a joke, you know that right?" She asked me looking concerned and jamming her feet into the ground to stop herself so that she was sitting still on the swing like I now was.

"Duh." I spit out, shaking myself from my daydream. And then I added a nervous laugh that I hadn't meant to sound nervous. "Everybody knows that." I scoffed, and Sonny looked at me skeptically, her eyebrows raising a fraction.

"Okay." She said curtly, and then she hopped off the swing. "Come on I want to show you something." She told me, the smile returning to her lips. I stood and brushed myself off, then followed two steps behind her as she lead me across the grass field and to a little pond, set out on the furthest edge of the lot. We pushed through some reeds surrounding it, Sonny skillfully and I hastily whacking them away from me. "Chad, don't hurt nature." Sonny scolded.

"I'm not hurting it, it's annoying me." I laughed involuntarily.

"Shhh." Sonny said briskly, and crouched nest to the pond we were now standing in front of. She waved her hand at me to crouch beside her, and I did, making sure that my gray vans didn't get in the mud.

"What are we here for?" I whispered at her.

"To see that." She said pointing, and I looked up from the murky water I had been staring warily at.

Directly across from us, on the other side of the pond, emerged at Momma duck and five little baby ducks that were still fuzzy and fat.

"Aren't they cute?" Sonny asked me, and I smiled at her adorableness. I saw her rummage in her purse, and pull out a plastic baggy with bread crumbs in it.

"You carry around bread crumbs in your purse?"

"Chad, shush. Yes, I do." She un-sealed it, and reached her hand inside pulling out a handful. Then she threw them towards the ducks. The little birds swarmed the food, and quaked at their snacks.

"Aren't you not supposed to feed ducks?" Sonny hit me with the bag.

"Don't ruin my fun." She glared at me.

"Don't hit me with your bread crumbs." I mimicked her voice. I got hit again. "I said don't!" I said a little louder, causing the ducks to freeze at my commotion.

"Don't move." Sonny hissed, and then smiled sweetly, but not at me, at the ducks. "Come here little guys." She cooed at them, tossing more crumbs. The ducks hesitated, but them one brave one broke away and claimed a piece of bread, and was soon followed by his mother and siblings. "You try." Sonny nudged me. "But be quiet." She said sternly, and I took a handful of the crumbs into my own hand. I dropped a few pieces into the water in front of me, and the first brave duck swam up to snatch them away. I took one crumb in between my thumb and index finger and held it tentatively out to the little ducky. Yes, I can call it ducky. Just because I'm an adult doesn't mean I can't use cutsie words like ducky… or cutsie. The duck finished the piece and then stared expectantly at me. I smirked and held out another piece to him, which he took swiftly in his beak.

"See?" I said to Sonny. "Even ducks can't get enough of Chad Dylan Cooper. I'm just that cool." She rolled her eyes exasperated. "What it's true." I said shrugging, and she looked at me with narrowed eyes. "Hey, Sonny I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be an ass." Her face softened a bit, and she tossed in another handful, finishing the bag before looking back at me.

"I know." Sonny said, smiling a tiny bit. "And I'm sorry for being irritable, it's just, I don't know. I have this foreboding feeling."

"Of what?" I asked worried.

"I can't place it exactly." She said, biting her lip which was all too cute for me to handle. So I leaned forward so that our lips met, and I carefully balanced myself on the pads of my feet on the awkward ground we were both crouched on. When I broke away, she smiled at me, and I whispered to her,

"I won't let anything happen." I knew it was cheesy, but that was my job as a boyfriend to be cheesy and lovey.

"I know you won't." She said, and we both stood holding hands. We meandered around the park for a few more minutes, and Sonny asked me about everybody back home. "How are Nico and Grady?" She asked me.

"Still big dorks." I snorted, and she squeezed my hand. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Just kidding! They are just being their normal goofy selves…" I hoped that would satisfy her. "You know, playing video games, hitting on girls, getting rejected, messing with the fro-yo machine." Sonny smiled widely.

"So they haven't changed then?"

"No, Sonny, I don't think they can ever change." Before she could hit me again, I changed the conversation. "And Tawni's good too. She misses you, she won't admit it, but I can tell."

"Typical Tawni." Sonny giggled. "When she called me earlier, I was hoping she was going to tell me that she was going to come up and visit." She said a little more sadly.

"I'm sure she will eventually." I said confidently.

"I hope so, I miss all my friends." She turned her head away a bit.

"Hey, they miss you too. So don't worry." I took her hand and squeezed it. "You have friends here too." I added.

"Yeah, Lucy hung out with me last week, and I visited some other old friends from my old high school. But still, I'm not as close with them you know? I can't laugh about all those inside jokes I have with Tawni, Zora, Grady and Nico." I turned and hugged her tightly to my chest.

"I love you." I said, because I wasn't sure what to say to that. Sonny popped up onto her tip-toes and buried her head into my neck.

"I love you too." I could hear a smile in her voice, and after she spoke I felt her lips press onto my neck, and I surpassed a shudder. "What do you want to do now?" She asked me, moments later when we were back to walking hand and hand down the path through the park.

"What time is it?" I asked her back.

"One forty-five" She said glancing at her phone she pulled out of her pocket.

"Dang it." I mumbled.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked, a little worried.

"Oh, well, the Mackenzie Falls reruns don't start until 7:00." I smirked and she laughed bubbly.

"Well, we should go home, and make sure we are going to record it then, shouldn't we?" She giggled, and tugged me back down the trail and across the street to her apartment.

Back in Sonny's apartment, I was sitting on her white counter tops, and she was pawing through a cook book while standing in the middle of the kitchen.

"Why is all that we seem to be doing today involves food?" She asked me, scanning a page.

"Because we are hungry people." I shrugged, and swung my legs like a four year old.

"No, it's because we are fat." She rolled her eyes, and turned a page. "Yes!"

"What did you find?" I asked her, jumping off of my perch to stand next to her.

"Chocolate chip cookies."

"You do know that the recipe for those is on the back of the chocolate chip bag right?" Sonny glared at me.

"Yes, I know that Chad. But this is my grandma's recipe." She said in a 'duh' voice.

"And it's more special than the Hershey one?" I asked skeptical.

"Yes, it's way better for you too." Uh oh, that didn't sound good.

"Can I make it?" I asked her, taking the book from her hands.

"What? You? Cooking?" She raised her eyebrows at me. "This I want to see."

"Fine. But you can't help me. You have to sit right there." I pointed to the counter where I had been sitting a few moments before. "You can't touch or fix anything." She nodded solemnly, and then hopped onto the counter before flashing me a cheesy smile.

"Okay, get going." She said impatiently.

"Yes ma'am." I put the book on the opposite counter from Sonny, and then started pawing around in drawers and cabinets, taking out everything I thought I might need. In the drawer with the towels, I found a navy blue apron, and folded it down so that it looked like something a chef might wear, then I strapped it on. I could hear Sonny snickering behind me, but I ignored her. I pawed around some more and pulled out different sized bowls, spoons, sugar, flour, those measuring thingy's, salt, butter, raisins, and then last I went to the freezer. I reached inside it, and found where Sonny kept her chocolate chips. I took out every single kind she had; milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and whatever else was in there. Then I remembered eggs and grabbed them too. "Okay. Where to start." I mumbled to myself. I took a bowl, and cracked a couple of eggs into it, but I was too lazy to check the right amount on the recipe. Then I poured in a few cups of flour, some sugar, and then I remembered that people usually put in brown sugar to. I searched until I found that in a cabinet, then poured some of that it. I tapped my finer to my chin, and then put in the other little things, like vanilla, salt, baking powder etc.

"How's it going?" Sonny asked from where she was sitting. I looked at her, and she was smirking widely.

"You just think you are so funny don't you?" I asked her, shaking my head.

"I don't think. I know, that's why I have a career as a comedian."

"You're a singer too, that has nothing to do with being funny." I shot back, dumping in a few more things.

"You're an actor." She said, blatantly.

"The best one out there." I whipped my head and gave her a flashing smile.

"That's what you like to say." She rolled her eyes. "Do you even know what you are doing?" I was mixing the bowl-of-stuff and it wasn't the color of chocolate chip cookie batter that my mom had ever made.

"Yes." I hissed. I gave up on the batter, and instead started ripping open packages of chocolate chips, putting about half of each kind in. "Can't you tell?"

"No, are you sure those are chocolate chip cookies?" She was smirking again, and craning her neck trying to see what I was doing from where she was sitting.

"There not okay? It's my own recipe, there…"

"Wait, let me guess." She said, tapping her finger to her chin mockingly. "Are they Chad-colate chip?"

"Yes. Yes they are." I stuck my chin out, and acted proud. Once I was satisfied with my new creations. I located a baking sheet, and started placing globs of my batter at odd intervals and random places. "Okay, there." I sighed, placing the 'cookies' into the oven Sonny had so kindly set for me before I had started.

"Really Chad? Your done?" She was lounging on the counter, her legs dangling, and her arms stretched out behind her, supporting her weight while she leaned back.

"Yes. Completely done." I stretched my arms out to the sides. "And tired." I walked towards her, and when I reached the counter I placed a hand on the counter on either side of her hips, so that my arms were straddling her waist.

"Oh joy." She said, unenthusiastically, moving her own hands to circle my neck. That I really liked.

"You should be happy. I made those for you." She laughed heartily, and I smiled at her.

"Well isn't that sweet of you." She said, tightening her arms, forcing me to move closer to her, now I was standing so that my front was completely pressed against the counter, I had moved my own hands to lay gently on her hips, and her legs were on either side of my body so that we were as close as possible. I leaned forward, and kissed her softly.

"Yes, it is." I mumbled, and then pressed our lips together again. I had missed her so much; the last couple of weeks had been so strange without seeing Sonny every single one of them. I took my hands from her hips and moved them so that they were wrapped tightly around her back. And I felt one of Sonny's hands crawl up my neck to get tangled in my hair, my first reaction was 'my hair!' but I let it go, because I was way too occupied with something much better to care about my hair at the moment.

Sonny took one of her hands, and pressed her palm to my chest leaning forward more and deepening the heated kiss passing between us. I cupped one of my hands to her neck, and we broke away for barely a second, just to catch our breath before diving back in. I felt Sonny's legs move and squeeze them around my hips, and her hand on my chest tightened into a fist with her snatching my shirt in it as well.

"Sonny" I moaned softly against her lips. I couldn't let this go too far, even though I wanted her so damn much. Sonny broke away panting a bit from lack of air, and I moved my lips to trail across her jaw and down to her neck and then collar bone. I could feel her chest heaving against my own, and I quickly moved my mouth back to hers. I parted my mouth a fraction while kissing her, and traced my tongue across her bottom lip, her mouth parted against mine as well, and to my surprise I found both of our tongues moving together. It's not like we hadn't French kissed before, but Sonny was shy when it came to any physical affection, and I was seriously thrilled that what was happening was happening. When we broke apart again, breathing heavily, I kissed Sonny's cheek and she groaned, but not an 'oh yes' groan, it was a complaining groan. "What?" I whispered to her.

"That's not what I want." She said huskily, surprising me again. She took my face in her hands and connected our mouths again.

"You want this? " I mumbled to her lips, and she nodded, carefully because we were still kissing deeply. I decided I wasn't fully satisfied, so I opened my mouth a little bit and gently sucked her bottom lip. I heard her moan happily, and I almost went crazy. Literally, I could feel myself heating up, and I felt so good that I really might have done something we might both regret later. Well, Sonny might regret it, because I knew she thought waiting was best, I would not have minded I don't think… I caught myself contemplating things that Sonny would defiantly not approve of, so I quickly mentally shook them out of my head. I broke our kiss reluctantly and just stood there, with my forehead pressed to hers, looking at her face; her flushed cheeks that were slowly creeping a blush, her slightly swollen lips that I wanted back, and her dark brown eyes that were big and excited.

"What are you thinking?" Sonny whispered heavily to me, pressing her hand to my cheek. "Very dirty things.' I thought to myself, but kept quiet, I could really use a Twix bar right now. Luckily, I was saved by the oven beeping.

"About my cookies." I said, wiggling my eyebrows. I let her go gently, and moved back to the white oven across the kitchen, to check on my creations. They didn't look like they were feeling very well when I turned on the oven light and took a peek.

"And?" Sonny said, still sitting on the counter.

"That there is something wrong with my cookies." I said sadly. She rolled her eyes and hopped off the counter to stand beside me.

**AN: Mhmmm. Me likey... Haha **

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	7. Chapter 6 Change

_**PLEASE READ**_

**AN: For those of you who just skipped ahead looking for the next chapter, you might be confused. Becasue yes, this is the same chapter. Like I said for the previous chapter, my computor freaked out on me and did something funky to my chapters. I finally got them all straightened out, so for those of you who caught that this chapter didn't exactly fit right, good job! If you are looking for the new chapter, got to CHAPTER 5, its the one that got skipped in uploading. So sorry, but it should all clear up now!**

**Disclaimer: What do you think?**

Sonny's POV

Okay, so what had just happened there? Oh, right, an extremely hot make out session with my extremely hot boyfriend. Damn. Pardon my cussing please. But really, you understand right? Anyways, I peered into the light oven to see how Chad's…"cookies"….were turning out for myself. Basically, they were a huge pan of gooey mess. A lot like the mud pies I used to make when I was five.

"Chad honey, those aren't cookies…" I said, holding back my laughter and not daring to look at him, because I knew if I did, I would lose it.

"I know." He said, a little sadly. I turned my head and saw him, shuffling his feet, with his brows furrowed in a serious way. "Wait!" He said, snapping his head up and brightening. "Do you have ice-cream?"

"Yea, why?" I wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"Give it to me." He said.

"How do you ask?" I said, crossing my arms and using my 'Mom' voice.

"Please." He said grumpily. I moved to the fridge and took the ice-cream out from above it in the freezer.

"Here." I said holding it out.

"Thanks." Chad rushed out, and then whipped around to take a bowl down from one of my cabinets. I watched him scrape a dollop of ice-cream into it, and then turn to take out his "cookies" which he then also scraped into the bowl. He mixed the two junk foods together until he was satisfied and let out a "Ta-da!"

"What is it now?" I asked, peering into the bowl.

"Cookie dough ice-cream." Chad grinned, showing his white teeth.

"Oh, of course!" I said, like it was obvious but of course it wasn't. What was inside the bowl was a lump of slowly melting ice-cream, with molten "cookie".

"Sonny." Chad said, smiling but with a new twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah?" I asked warily.

"Try it." He held out a spoon that he must have grabbed from one of my drawers.

"Oh, well you should really try it first, you made it."I insisted.

"No, no. You do it." He grinned wider.

"You're the guest." I pointed out.

"You're who I made this for." He put on this cute angelic face, which had to have been fake, but he looked so sweet…

"I-I…" Quite honestly, I was frickin' afraid of what might be in those cookies, and how I would end up reacting to them.

"You know you want to.." Chad teased me holding the spoon filled with dripping goo out to me. I didn't want to.

"I…." The spoon was so close to my face now that I had to cross my eyes to see it.

"Sonny." Chad chuckled, moving the spoon away. "You don't have to eat it." His grin was back again, and he looked at me amused.

"Wha-what?" I stuttered out.

"I was kidding, this probably tastes disgusting." He said eyeing it suspiciously. I watched him sniff it, then shrug and put the spoonful of… whatever, into his mouth. He chewed, looking thoughtful. "Actually, it's not bad. Kind of melted though…"

"I can't believe you ate that." I said.

"Do you doubt my cooking abilities?" He asked me, looking down at me.

"Yes. I really really do." He laughed, and shook his head.

"You're smart to do that." He moved to wrap his arms around me room behind, and nuzzle his head into my shoulder. I was just getting comfortable when I had this eerie feeling, mixed with that feeling you get when you know you are about to get a call. I tensed up, waiting for the phone in my pocket to start vibrating, or blaring Enrique Iglesias; I wasn't sure what my phone was set to at the moment. "What's wrong?" Chad asked, feeling me grow frigid. All of a sudden, I Like It was screaming from my pocket. I fumbled to take out my phone, and Chad released me.

"When did you change your ringtone from the cows?" He asked me, but I waved him off and signaled him to be quiet while I glanced at the screen before answering. Unknown number.

"Hello?" I answered briskly, probably not a good idea, and I felt that foreboding feeling grab hold of me.

"Sonny. Wow, I haven't heard from you in a long time." The voice stirred very foggy memories in my mind, seen through the blurry eyes of a young child. I knew the voice. I didn't want to know the voice. I didn't want to be hearing the voice. But I was, and wasn't sure what to do.

"You still there?" It asked.

"Yeah." I managed out. Barely.

"Oh, good. Wow, you sound so old, I've seen pictures of you on magazines and such, but I still can't believe that it's really you." I was in shock, and I could feel my jaw slacken, my mouth slightly agape. I shuddered, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Chad's face, and his blue eyes glued to me with a worried expression plastered to his face.

"Sonny." Chad said, stepping towards me. I didn't move, or acknowledge he was there. "Sonny." He said again, and at the same time I heard the deep voice on the other line.

"Hello? Sonny, do we have a bad connection?" I didn't do a single thing, or move a single muscle. I was trapped in my memories, and frozen in the present time. I felt my phone being taken from my hand.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but can Sonny call you back? Now isn't a very good time." He said in an even tone, and I couldn't hear what the voice said back but Chad replied with. "Alright, thank you." Then my phone snapped shut, and that noise brought me back. And my shaking consumed me. I crossed my arms over each other, and squinted my eyes closed; they were rapidly filling with tears. Chad's arms encircled me, I know he was confused, but he realized I needed comforting, so he didn't ask any questions right away.

I let his strong arms lead me to my couch in the living room, and then sit me down, where he shortly joined me, and pulled me onto his lap and against his chest.

"I've got you." He said, softly. "I'm here." He didn't say 'It's okay.' Because he didn't know if everything was okay, and that's what I loved about him. He wasn't making false reassurances, he was simply being there for me, and letting me know that.

I let the tears go, and they streamed down my face, landing on Chad's shirt and soaking in. I cried silently, not making any noise, but the whole time Chad stroked my hair and back, calming me with soft noses, making his presence known, and showing me that I wasn't alone.

I wasn't sure how long it was that I cried, maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour or more, but neither of us moved from our spot on the couch. When the tears stopped falling, and we were simply breathing slowly together, Chad venture out to ask me the question that had probably been burning inside of him sense I answered the phone.

"Sonny." He said slowly, and I looked at him, trying to focus on his eyes and not anything else.

"I have to know." Blue.

"You probably don't want to talk about it." Deep blue puddles.

"But I'm worried about you, and I want to know why you are so upset." The ocean. The sky. Blue birds. Blue-berries. Raspberry jolly ranchers. What else was blue?

"So…." My bathroom wall, Hanukah lights, tropical fish?

"Who was that on the phone?" I broke my gaze, his eyes weren't working. I thought about my options; I could run away, give him the silent treatment, yell at him for prying? NO, that would all end up hurting him, and he was being so patient and calm with me. I took a deep breath.

" My," I gulped, I hadn't said the word for a long time.

"My Dad."

Suddenly I was four again.

"_Sonny!" He called, and I looked up from where I was playing in the yard by my play set and swings. "It's dinner!" _

"_Coming Daddy!" I shouted back, and took off from my spot under the shady trees. The house was different, toys were scattered around, and a nine year old David came pounding down the stairs as I entered the hallway. _

"_Watch it Son!" He sneered, and shoved past me, making me kit the wall in his wake._

"_Hey! David! Mommy!" I yelled, stomping my foot._

"_I didn't do anything!" David shouted too._

_I waited for my Mom or Dad to shout back at us to knock it off, but I didn't hear anything but hushed voices from the kitchen. I say David creep forward and crouch against the ground by the doorway to the kitchen and stay perfectly still. I could tell something was up. I toddled over to him, and in my best whisper voice said;_

"_What is it?" _

"_Shhh!" David hushed back as me, so I went quiet and copied his position at the doorway. I don't think I understood what it was I was hearing._

"_Connie, just stop it okay?" I heard my Dad say in his burly voice._

"_Stop what Mike? Caring? Wondering where you are all the time?" My Mom shot back. Oh, they were just fighting again._

"_Sure, you could do that. It would make it a whole lot easier." He hissed._

"_I bet it would, then you could go off and pretend that you are fifteen years younger, and don't have a wife or kids anymore. Live the perfect life you always wanted." I had never heard my Mom speak so darkly before._

"_Yeah, that is my perfect life. I did this all for you. And I thought it would make you happy; getting married, having kids. But that's not enough for you!" _

"_It's not enough because that isn't a real family Mike! You are supposed to want to be a family, that's what marring me and having David and Sonny meant!" _

"_To you maybe, to me it just seems like a hassle all the time." My dad said dryly. _

"_A hassle? Really a hassle? Oh yeah, because you are home so often." My Mom turned away from my Dad, staring out a big window._

"_Well when I am home, they never leave me alone! And you just sit here nagging me!" I saw my Dad's fist clench._

"_They don't leave you alone because they miss you. They try to take advantage of the time they do get to spend with you. I nag you because I'm worried about our kids growing up without a father." She took a shaky breath. "That's what I'm constantly afraid of." She turned back around so that David and I could see her face, and it was tear streaked and tired looking._

"_Well don't worry anymore. Because it doesn't have to be a fear. It can just be a reality for you." I heard a gasp next to me, and saw David's mouth drop open, his brown hair drooping over his eyes which were stormy. "I'm done." _

"_Mike! How could you just walk away?" She moved forward and grabbed his arm, her voice now pleading. "They love you, and need you. Don't you understand that?" My Dad shook his arm away from her._

"_Sure I understand that. They are little; they love and need anything and everything. But unlike you, I'm not attached to this whole 'family' charade." I felt David move next to me, and watched him stand and walk into the room._

"_Say it." He taunted my Dad. "Tell me you don't want us. Tell her-" He pointed behind him at my head that was peeking from around the corner. "You don't care." David was tall for a nine year old, but he was still much smaller then my Dad, but I would realize, and so would David to his dismay later in life, that he would end up looking a lot like him. The dark brown hair, brown eyes, long lashes, and strong jaw. David hated being so similar to him, because he didn't want to end up the same. _

"_I don't want a family. I never did." He said to David, blinking slowly, and speaking in an even tone. Then he turned his head to me, sitting on the floor by the door, staring up at him with eyes that also matched his, that was the only thing I ended up getting from him. " I don't care." I didn't understand the context he said those words in, but I could sense something was serious, and I felt m eyes well up with tears. They dripped slowly down my face, and I dropped my gaze from my Dad to the hardwood floor beneath me._

"_I'm leaving." My Dad said, and he stepped heavy footed out of the room, down the hallway and to the front door. He didn't take anything with him but his wallet and his car keys. I quickly got up, and stumbled my way to the door, by the time I got there he was down the driveway._

"_Daddy!" I shouted, pushing open the screen door and struggling my way outside. "Daddy!" I started down the walkway from our front door, and tried to run to catch up. "Dad!" I shouted again, and I saw him look back, just one time. I thought he was waiting for me, but I was wrong and he turned back to his car and started it up. I was still running on my chubby toddler legs, when I felt arms around me. _

"_No Sonny." David said, picking me up, and carrying me back to the house. _

"_Where is he going?" I asked him._

"_I don't know." He said calmly, shutting and locking door behind us when we got back inside._

"_When is he coming back?" I asked, trying to get answers._

"_He's not Son. He's never coming back."_

David looked so grown up there, and had such this serious measure to his gaze that I undoubtedly believed him. And always did. But now, I wasn't so sure.

**I hope the story makes sense for you all now, again, really sorry about that!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	8. Chapter 7 Sing A Song

**Alright, it's been awhile I know. But to make up for that, thischaoter is way over 6,000 words long. I read through it again and found 3 or 4 places that I could break this into dirrerent chapters, but I wanted to get this all out now. So, you've got a few chapters worht to read, GET TO IT :)**

**I dont't own Sonny. You know that.**

Chad's POV

It made me angry. He had done this to her, she was sitting here crying in my arms because of something he had done to her 14 years ago. Screw him. I pulled Sonny closer, and let her cry more, she had been sitting in my lap for way over an hour, but I wasn't sure how long exactly. I didn't care either. All I cared about was how precious this person in my arms was to me. I glanced at the clock, and realized that it was 4:00. Getting a little late, and I shifted my gaze to the girl in my arms.

"Sonny?" I whispered softly. No answer. She must have dozed off, so I snuggled down into the couch myself, and shut my eyes. I would just rest for a minute.

Sonny's POV

I blinked my eyes open, it was dark, and dark outside too. The blue clock on the wall told me it was almost 8. I yawned, and I felt my face crinkle from all the dried salt. I shifted my body around, looking for Chad when I realized that I was snuggled in his arms; with my head against his chest, and both our bodies stretching out across the sofa. His arms were wrapped around me, and I felt warm and safe.

"This is where we belong." Someone mumbled, and I jumped a little. "Sorry." Chad chuckled, apparently, he was awake too.

"God you scared me." I said, turning to look at his face. His blue eyes glimmered a bit in the faint light that was slowly sinking from outside the window.

"I really am sorry." He said again, moving his hand to tuck some of my hair behind my ear. "How do you feel?" I thought about it, I had felt drained before, but now I had slept for awhile, and defiantly wasn't tired.

"Confused." I decided was the best way to describe how I was feeling.

"Explain." He said, cocking his head to the side, and staring at me intently.

"Well, I don't know why he called. He hasn't tried to contact me sense the day he left, and I had honestly thought David had been right when he said our dad was never coming back. But now, I don't know…"

"Do you want him to come back?" Chad asked, this was a question I had been dreading, but knew had been coming.

"I, I really don't know. The only memories I have of him are from me being a little kid. I never really got to know him…"

"Which makes you curious." Chad finished for me.

"Exactly. But then on the other side, I'm angry because he just up and left his whole family, and didn't even give me a chance to get to know him." Chad nodded, still meeting my eyes, he was brave. "Why did he call?" I asked again. Kind on to myself, but I was also wondering what Chad's thoughts were.

"You could find out." He said slowly, darting from my gaze. "He did want you to call back."

"I- I don't know if I could." I stuttered. "I almost want to, but still…"

"_We_ could call if you wanted." He said. "Together." I didn't know what to say, so I simply nodded. Chad picked up my cell phone, and clicked to recent received calls, then held down a button until my phone started ringing.

"Put it on speaker." I told him, and he quickly did just that. I heard the phone ring once…twice…three times. And then waited as it rang the fourth time.

"No answer." Chad said, closing the phone, but because it was on speaker it didn't hang up, and suddenly the answering machine kicked into gear.

_*Hey! You've reached the Monroe's!*_

Monroe's? Plural?

*It seems that neither Becca or I could get to the phone.*

Becca?

*We're probably busy with the kids!*

That was a female voice from the background.

*But we'll get back ASAP!*

I heard shuffling in the background, and a few young voices got on the phone.

*Bye!*

*Thank you!*

*Talk to you soon!*

Followed by a *beep*

"No." escaped my mouth, and Chad clumsily hung up the phone, in just as much shock as I was in. "He-he has another family." I was in complete awe. "He left because he didn't want one. He said he didn't care, and then left. And now he has a new one?" My head was spinning, but I would not let myself cry. I was done being weak little Sonny. Now I was just angry Sonny, who wasn't let out often enough. "No frickin' way." I was sitting upright on the couch, and Chad was next to me, with a worried expression and his eyes taking in and reading my every move. "Give me my phone." I said, in a rough tone, and holding my hand out to him.

"What are you going to do?" Chad asked me warily, but instead of handing over the phone like I told him to, he moved it closer to his chest.

"Just give it to me Chad!" I said, raising my voice.

"Sonny, can you just explain-" I cut him off.

"Chad, I don't have to explain anything to you! Just give me my damn phone!" I know I was being mean, and I saw the hurt reflected on his face, but I was caught up in my anger.

"Look, Sonny, I know your angry right now, I really do, but I think that you are being a little rash, and I don't want you to do something that you are going to regret later." He spoke to me in an even tone, meeting my glaring eyes, and his blonde eyebrows furrowing in concentration and worry.

I took a deep breath.

He was right,

_Chad Dylan Cooper is always right_

A whiny voice in my head squeaked out.

Oh great, he's taking over my conscious too. Brilliant.

"Alright." I sighed defeated, and slumped over on the couch.

"Thank you." Chad said softly and pulled me to him, I placed my hand on his chest, and focused on his shirt instead of his eyes which I knew were locked on me.

"Will you at least hand me the remote?" I said.

"Sure, but hold up, it depends on what you want to watch." He said, reaching out and taking the remote from the coffee table.

"NASCAR racing." I said the most boyish thing I could think of.

"Oh, really? Okay." He said a little disbelieving, but gave me the remote anyways.

I flipped on the TV, and went to my recorded programs.

"You record NASCAR?" Chad asked me suspiciously.

"Maybe." I said, scrolling down until I found the show I really wanted to watch.

"Sonny that's not-"

"Shh!" I scolded him, and he stopped mid sentence.

"Grey's Anatomy? Really Sonny really?" Chad asked in a whisper, and I could hear the slight smile in his voice.

"What did I tell you?" I said, clamping my hand over his mouth as Ellen Pompeo's voice started the narration. Scenes flicked by, and I eventually removed my hand from my boyfriend's mouth.

"Yes! There he is!" I said, entirely absorbed in the show, just as I was hoping I would get. "Oh my gosh, I love him." I sighed, letting my body go limp as I stared at Jesse Williams, who played Jackson Avery (AKA, my new favorite character) on Grey's. "Now if Jackson and Lexie would hook up, get married and have a bunch of little perfect babies my life would be complete." I stared dreamily at the screen, and then let my eyes flick to Chad to see his reaction. He was staring at me, half smiling, half looking at me like I was crazy. "Did you see the episode where he took his shirt off?" I asked him.

"What? No, I don't watch this Sonny." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Too bad for you then. I almost died when I saw him. David was over and he got worried that I was hyperventilating." I knew I was avoiding the serious stuff I should be talking about, but I had decided for the time being that I was going to pretend nothing happened, and deal with it all later.

"Sonny." I knew he was going to try and be serious with me, so I went back to covering his mouth and 'shh'ing him until the episode was over. When I finally released his mouth, he gave me 'the look'.

"Sonny, was that completely necessary?"

"Absolutely." I nodded, and started to get up. "Woah, when did it become eleven o'clock?" Chad checked the clock himself, and turned to me smugly.

"Eighteen minutes ago." He smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Exact." I rolled my eyes. I yawned widely.

"You're welcome Ms. It'sTimeForBed." He said, standing and grabbing hold of my shoulders, steering me into my room down the hall.

"That's an odd name to have, but very original." I yawned again.

"Wow, somebody is up way too late…" Chad chuckled. He started pushing me to my bed, but I realized I didn't have any pajamas on.

"Wait here." I told him, opening my closet and quickly grabbing some, before escaping into my bathroom to change. I threw off my shorts and t-shirt, and hastily pulled on a gray tank top and blue and white striped girl boxers. I snuck a peek in the mirror before I opened the door, and realized that I looked like a mess. My hair was mussed from sleeping, my face was smudged from the make-up running down my face from my tears, and my skin was noticeably blotchy from crying. Lovely. I changed my mind and grabbed an orange washcloth hanging from the cabinet under the sink to wash my face, then I fixed my hair, pulling it back into a rough braid down my neck. Eh, good enough.

I left turned the door knob, and I could hear the gentle strumming of a guitar. In my room, I saw Chad sitting on my bed, with my guitar in his hands, carefully plucking away while reading something sitting in front of him on my sheets. I walked to him, and sat beside him, but he didn't stop what he was doing or look up. I traced to where he was looking, and saw that he was playing my music, the melody to one of the songs I hadn't finished yet.

"Chad!" I said, a little apprehensive that he had found it.

"Hmm?" He hummed, still not looking at me, and strumming away at my guitar, but I did notice the smile sprout on his face.

"Chad. You went through my stuff?" I asked him seriously.

"No, it was just sitting there, and I picked it up. I didn't go through anything." He said, just as seriously, and then he chuckled at the end. Breaking the seriousness.

I gave him the stare down.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He smirked, standing up, and setting down my guitar. Then he grabbed my waist and pulled me to him. "I really am sorry." He said, looking into my still glaring eyes. I uncrossed my arms from the annoyed posture I had taken up, and wrapped them around his neck, hugging him.

"I forgive you." I laughed lightly. And then I just breathed in his scent, and his presence. He nuzzled my cheek, and then gave me a light kiss on the lips.

"I love you." He said, resting his chin on my head. "And I'm sorry today had such a twist. I'll talk with you about it if you want to later. Whenever you feel like it. Let me know." I nodded slowly, moving both of our heads. I felt another tear slip out of my eye, remembering what had happened earlier. I hadn't really forgot, but I had done my best to push it to the back of my mind, and it all came flowing back. "Sleep tight." He whispered, releasing me, and stepping back. I didn't want him to leave, ever, but I had something else that I wanted to, no needed to do right now.

I watched Chad slip from my room, shutting the door behind him. I suddenly felt the vast emptiness of my room from being alone, but I shook it off, and looked down at the scrawl of music notes dotting the paper on my bed. I picked up the song, noticing the title 'Stop the World' at the top. I smiled thinking about Chad playing it, it was another song about him after all. I didn't have any lyrics for it yet, but I knew they would come soon. I walked to my desk and placed the song on top of my other half finished pieces, and then shuffled around in a drawer looking for some blank sheet music. I found it, and a good pencil among the cup of several broken ones, and then returned to my bed, picking up my guitar from where Chad had set it down.

I strummed a few chords, just warming up, and my fingers quickly got used to the familiar metal strings underneath them. I knew Chad wouldn't hear me, I had wanted to make sure I wouldn't annoy my neighbors if I was playing at night, so I had made David come over and help me to test out how sound proof my walls were. Turned out, the music didn't get past my bedroom walls, and lucky for my neighbors I have to say.

I thought about all of the emotion I had felt earlier, and my fingers slowly settled into a rhythm that sounded calming, and steady. A thought suddenly dawned on me, and I dropped my guitar on my covers, and ran to my closet, hoping what I was looking for would be where I thought it would be. Even through my tired eyes, I found the paper I was looking for, and stepped back from the darkness of my closet to see it in the light.

A picture. An old picture, from a lifetime ago. A happy family looked at the camera, a mom, a dad, a young boy, and a younger girl all smiled up at me. And in the young girl reflected my own face. The crinkle my eyes get when I'm truly happy, my brown hair, my pale skin, everything was the same except she was almost fourteen years younger.

I made my way back to my bed, and sat back down with my guitar, facing the picture I had set down in front of me. I started up my steady strumming again, and focused on one face in particular from the picture. It was hard, I didn't want to look at him, his hair and eyes that so matched David's looks now, and he was smiling, like he was happy to be there. And I wondered if it was a lie. If it was, he was sure a good actor, his smile made him look handsome and kind, I could see why some people would like him.

My fingers changed, and the melody did as well, my thoughts whirled around, and I sang to myself, very quietly, letting words come to my head, and I would pause every once in a while to scribble them down, along with the notes of the song. I had never written thins way; it was always music first, lyrics second. But this song required them both at the same time; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get out what I needed to say.

Hours passed, the clock slowly ticked away, but the tiredness had left me, and I was glad I had slept so much earlier, because it gave me the energy I needed to stay up and get this out of my system. I strummed a final note, and wrote it down. Then I looked at the finished song before me. It was messy, I would have to rewrite it before showing it to Bill later this week. I glanced at my wall clock, and it read 3:27 A.M. I grabbed a timer from my guitar case, to see how long it would be, I began the timer, and then began to play.

**World Of Chances**

**You've got a face for a smile, you know.  
A shame you waste it when you're breaking me slowly.  
But I've got a world of chances, for you.  
I've got a world of chances, for you.  
I've got a world of chances, chances that you're burning through.**

I've got a paper and pen.  
I go to write a goodbye and that's when I know I've  
got a world of chances for you.  
I've got a world of chances, for you.  
I've got a world of chances, chances that you're burning through.

Oh...  
I'm going my own way.  
My faith has lost its strength again.  
Oh...  
it's been too hard to say we've fallen off the edge again.  
We're at the end.  
We're at the end.

Maybe you'll call me someday.  
Hear the operator say the number's no good and that she had a world of chances for you.  
She had a world of chances, for you.  
She had a world of chances, chances you were burning through.  
Chances you were burning through.  
Chances you were burning through...

Ououhh..

You've got a face for a smile, you know.

I finished playing, and stopped the timer at two minutes and fifty one seconds. That's when I noticed my cheeks were wet again. To anyone else listening to this song, I was probably writing about an ex boyfriend. But I knew, this song was for my Dad.

I woke up some time later, and I didn't even realize I had been asleep. I probably would have stayed asleep too, but something was making my bed move. I opened my eyes, and immediately saw the face of Chad Dylan Cooper. And he was straddling me in my bed. That's one way to wake up.

"Good morning." He said cheerily. "Sleep well?" He had a mischievous look on his face, that made me thing he was up to something.

"What did you do?" I said sternly, and Chad's face went from mischievous to sheepish.

"Well, I dodn't mean to, but it was just sitting on your bed, and you know when you start to read something you can't exactly just stop, because I wanted to read the rest of it, and I know I said I wouldn't look at your stuff, and I'm sorry I did it again but-"

"Chad!" I cut him off.

"Yeah?" He asked wary.

"Shut up." I said, though I put as much love into that 'shut up' as I could so I wouldn't hurt his feelings. "What are you talking about?" I was groggy, and I had been rudely woken up by my blonde boyfriend sitting on me. Honestly, I don't get any blame.

"I read your song…" He motioned to the sheet music sprawled out across my bed. "Sorry." He added again before I could react.

"Really?" I asked, I wasn't sure if I should be annoyed that he had done it again, or embarrassed that he had read something so personal.

"Yeah. And I think I know what it's about. Because, you haven't told me about any other boyfriends, so I'm assuming it's about-"

"Yeah. It is." Okay, so my plan for people not knowing who it's about didn't exactly work on Chad, but he knew the real story anyways so that doesn't count. "What did you think?" I asked nervously. It had been late when I wrote it, it could be total crap for all I know…

"It was really impressive Sonny. Don't be nervous." He nudged me. "You did a really good job, that couldn't have been easy to write."

I nodded, and then pushed Chad off of me, so that I could sit up.

"Sorry." Chad chuckled. I gave him a look, and he stifled his laughing. "So…"

"So..?" I asked back, glad he was at least trying to change the subject.

"Will you sing it for me?" Or so I thought.

"Uh, I really don't want to sing it more then I have to." I looked down, and played with the blanket that was draped over my legs.

"Oh. Right." Chad bit his lip, deep in thought. And then the devilish grin that so often graced his face appeared. "Where's your phone?" He asked me.

"Why do you want to know?" I knew better then to give into Chad's demands right away.

"Ah, never mind, I see it."And he jumped off my bed to pluck my phone from my desk.

"Chad, what are you-" But he gave me the 'shush' sigh, and I crossed my arms disgruntled. He scrolled down on something until he found what he was looking for. Then he held the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Yes, this is Chad Dylan Cooper. Listen, Sonny wrote something yesterday, and was wondering if she could slip herself in for some studio time to record the song?" He paused and listened to whoever was on the other line. I assumed it was Bill Mason. "Yes, I know recording a song requires a lot more work than just writing it and singing it. Uhuh. Of course." He rolled his eyes, and listened again. "I understand, but you see, I'm flying back to LA tonight, and Sonny was hoping I could play with her for her song." I heard a raised voice on the other end, and Chad chuckled. "Yes, I play the guitar when I can. No, I don't think singing was what she had in mind, just me playing." What in the world, was he actually going to get what he wanted? I shut my eyes tight, and crossed my fingers.

_Are you there God? It's me Sonny._

_No, I'm not talking to you to complain that I haven't gotten my period, because that happened a while ago. I was just hoping that just this once you could do your best to keep Chad from getting what he wants? I know that is probably not something I should be asking for, but I will owe you one if you do._

I was suddenly broken from my trance by Chad's raised voice.

"Excellent! Yes, we will be there within the hour. Thanks so much Bill. Alright, see you." He hung up, and gave me a dazzling smile.

Well, I guess it's for the better; I'm not really sure what kind of favor I would have to have done for God anyway…

"Really Chad? Really?" I looked at him, narrowing my eyes.

"Yes Sonny. Yes really. Look, I know you don't want to sing it, but then it will e over with, and hey! Now I get to do it with you! Wait, no that's not what I wanted..." He said sarcastically.

"Aw, poor Chad." I said with just as much sarcasm. "So now….you have to play guitar?" I asked, wondering what the verdict had actually been set as.

"Yeah…" Chad said slowly. "Sorry if I'm butting in on your song." He said apologetic.

"Actually this could end up being kind of funny." Chad looked at me confused. "You know, because to everybody else this song is going to sound like I'm singing about a bad break up or something, while my boyfriend is in the song with me. Kind of awkward don't you think?"

Chad shrugged. "Yeah, so who did you break up with?"

I looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? You know the real story."

"Yes, but you are going to need an alibi, otherwise Bill is going to ask what the song is about, or you will get asked in an interview or something." He had a point.

"I'll make it up on the spot." I said, not wanting to have to think at the moment. "When do we have to be there?" I asked him.

"Soon," He said checking his watch. "Go get changed." He ordered. I saluted him and went to my closet. I grabbed a pair of cropped jeans, and a red tank top, and then turned around. He was still standing there.

"Um, are you gonna…" He looked at me in surprise.

"Oh right sorry." He said, and I thought he was going to leave, but instead he just turned around.

"Chad."

"I'm not looking!" He said, but I could hear the humor in his voice.

"Chad."

"I promise! Look, I'll cover my eyes." He covered his face with his hands. I could tell this was getting nowhere. So I gave in.

I changed as quickly as possible, ad then walked up behind me, and wrapped my hands around his waist.

"All good." I chuckled.

"That was fast." He commented.

"Yes, now I just have to fix this." I said as he turned around, referring to my face and hair.

"It looks perfect to me." Chad said sweetly. "But I want to come watch." He insisted.

I walked into my bathroom, and looked in the mirror.

"Liar!" I spun around to look at him, and he held up his hands in surrender. "I'm a mess." I said, looking back at the mirror. My hair was snarled, and I had depressing bags under my eyes. Yikes.

"You look beautiful in anything Sonny." He said super cheekily, and I made a face at him in the mirror which he returned.

"Just be quite, I have to concentrate." He was silent while I applied make up, and did my best to untangle my hair and get it into a ponytail at the back to my head. "Okay, that's the best I can do for only sleeping like…5 hours." I sighed, and Chad kissed my cheek.

"Ready to go?" He asked me, and that's when I noticed Chad was fully dressed for the day, and had even done his hair already.

"How long have you been up?"

"That didn't answer my question, but I'm gonna take it as a yes, and I've been up for a couple hours…"

"You didn't answer my question either." I shot back.

"That was too an answer." He replied.

"Not really." I shook my head, and he stuck his tongue at me.

"Let's go." Chad said, pulling my arm, and giving in.

"But, don't we need food or something?" I pondered.

"Bill said he had it covered. Have you noticed that Bill's name is kind of plain? Bill. One syllable. Like I said, kind of plain." He rambled, and opened my front door, while I jammed on my converse lying next to it.

"You do know that Bill is short for William right? His name is William Mason, but Bill is quicker to say." I justified to him as we walked out my door and down the hallway.

"How is Bill short for William? There isn't even a B in William. Anywhere." His eyebrows creased when we got outside, and started down the sidewalk to the studio.

"I don't know Chad. Look it up." I snapped playfully.

"Well then." Chad said, disgruntled. But he nudged me with his arm to show that he was just kidding.

When we arrived at the studio, we were greeted at the front door my Bill himself.

"Hey kids, you ready to do some work?" He asked us, getting right to the point.

"Yes we are." Chad answered for us, before I could speak up.

"Excellent. Let's get to it. We have recording booth 2 for as long as we need. Or at least until three…" He trailed off. We all made our way up the elevator to the floor we had been on yesterday. And when we got to the booth we had reserved, Chad was a little surprised.

"There are so many people here." He commented.

"That's because were actually recording today. Yesterday was just kind of a dry run. I'd done that song a bunch of times, and we had already recorded all of the other music for it. But today we have the band, and the sound board guys, and Bill…" I motioned to all the people throughout the booth.

"Oh." Chad said, and I saw him frown.

"Something wrong?" I asked, taking in his expression.

"No, it's just a lot of people." He said.

I laughed. "It's not half as many as on the set of Mack Falls." I pointed out. But then Bill got us into action.

"Okay, Sonny you have the sheet music?" I held it up, glad I remembered it before we left. "Good. Now how about the tow of you get in there, and we can do a sound check. Wait, just a sec." He went to an intercom on the wall and buzzed in. "Alice, I'm going to need you to make copies of some sheet music." He paused, and then another voice crackled in. "Yes Mr. Mason. I'll be right in."

That's when I remembered that I hadn't gotten to redo the music and that it was still super sloppy.

"Mr. Mason." I said walking up to him. "My music is kind of messy, I didn't get a chance to rewrite it yet."

"It's fine Sonny. The band and I can deal. We can see how good everyone really is at reading music." He winked at me, I handed over my music, and then I walked back over to Chad.

"Ready?" I asked him. I'd done all of this a bunch of times, I was used to it, but even though Chad didn't have to worry about singing, I could tell he was nervous. "You'll do fine." I reassured him. And he swallowed, before nodding. I pushed him in front of me and we made our way into the recording booth, and I pointed to a guitar in the corner. "Can you use that do you think?" He didn't really have a choice, but I offered al the same.

"Sure." He said, and picked it up before sitting on a stool next to the one meant for me.

"Alright here we go." Bill said a couple minutes later, coming in with copies of my song for everyone. He passed them out to Chad, myself and each member of the band there. "Okay, everyone. Sound check." Bill said, now from outside by speaking through the speaker from the sound board. "How's the band?"

They did a quick warm-up, while the sound tech adjusted some switches. "Got it." Bill said. Then he looked at me through the glass. "Sonny?" I sang a couple of scales, until he gave me the thumbs up. "Now can Chad warm-up on the guitar?" I looked at Chad and he nodded that he was ready. So I motioned to him to start playing my song. He carefully read the music in front of him, and strummed away at the instrument. "Good, thank you Chad." Bill called through the speaker. "Sonny, did you have any ideas for what the band should do? You don't have any other instruments written down." I thought for a moment before replying.

"I think there needs to be some drums and violin music for sure. I know that might sound odd, but do you see where I mean-"

"Yup, Sonny I feel you." He spoke to an assistant sitting next to him, and then back to the speaker. "Okay, Steve we want drums to start on the second verse…" And that is where I tuned out. Bill was the director of other instruments, he had my music, and I knew he wouldn't change it. He knew my style, so he knew what I was looking for to accent the song and where.

"Okay Sonny, were ready to start." Bill spoke to me, and I put my head phones over one ear to help to focus. "Let's do this!" Bill said to everyone this time. I gave one more smile to Chad, who looked at little more comfortable, and then I began to sing after Bill gave me the five second countdown.

It took four takes to record it right, and three before that to actually get the music down. But overall, I think we did pretty damn well. Chad and I left the studio smiling two and a half hours later, after grabbing muffins and eating in a break room once we were done recording.

"That was fun." Chad said, holding my hand as we began our trek back to my apartment.

"You did a great job."I smiled at him. And it was the truth, he picked up the song really fast, and did a great job playing it. I was proud of him. "What do you want to do when we get back?" I asked him.

"Hmm," He voiced, thinking, before smirking. "Anything but watch Grey's Anatomy."

"Hey!" I objected and Chad laughed.

"Sorry, it's just not my thing." He said amused.

"Fine." I pouted.

"Fine."

"Good." I perked up.

"Good." He smiled and we were quite for the rest of the walk.

Back home, we decided to play a video game. And when I say we, I mean Chad. I can't play for my life. But Chad said he had been deprived of his own video games for over twenty-four hours, and needed them. That's right needed them. Like he would die without them. What a drama queen.

I sat on the couch for over an hour, watching him race a small mustached man around a rainbow car track trying to beat a monkey, a green man who looked like a twin, a princess and a little green lizard. How is that manly again? I don't even know why I have a Wii, it's not like I play it.

"Sonny, can we have lunch soon?" He asked me out of the blue.

"Chad, it's almost three."

"Woman, make me a samich." He said, winking at me.

"Oh my gosh. No, I won't make you a sandwich. I am going to go make me two sandwiches, and if I don't eat one, then you can have it." I said to him, twisting everything so that I still won.

"Alright. Thanks." Chad said, going back to his game. I sighed, ashamed of my boyfriend, and left for the kitchen. I made two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, both with extra peanut butter and jelly, and brought those along with two glasses of milk into the living room where Chad was. I sat next to him, leaning against the front of the couch, and he paused his game and looked at me.

"I'm gonna miss you." He said, picking up his sandwich.

"Because you're going to have to make your own sandwiches?" I giggled, but then became more serious.

"No, because I'm not going to get to see you every day. That was lonely." He said solemnly, and I knew the feeling.

"I'm going to miss you too." I said, and I laid my head against his shoulder.

"You'll call if you need me right?" He asked. I thought the answer was pretty obvious.

"Defiantly. I don't think I would call anyone else if I needed you." He smirked, and continued to eat his sandwich.

"What about what's going on with your Dad?" He asked, I still didn't know how I felt about it.

"I'm going to tell David about it." I said, I needed to get his opinion, even though I was fairly certain of how he was going to react. "He isn't going to be happy I don't think."

"If I were him, which I'm defiantly not, I think I would be just as confused as you. I mean, yeah, David knew him longer, and he was probably more aware of what was happening, but it's still your guys' dad right? That has to mean some confliction in feelings, because you both loved him."

"But that's the thing, its past tense. Loved. Yes, we loved him when he was there, but then he wasn't." I wasn't sure where I was going with what I was saying.

"Well, my love is present tense."Chad said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer. "And future tense too. I promise that." He whispered, and then kissed me gently. "Mmm," He smiled. "Peanut butter." And then we both laughed shortly. I leaned forward and kissed him again, and this time it lasted longer. I tangled my hand into Chad's hair, and I felt him move his hand to my face, stroking my cheek delicately.

"What time is your flight?" I asked him a few minutes later as we both stood, and were catching our breath.

"I have to be there by eight." He said, gazing into my eyes. The blue of his own was so deep and so luring that I needed him again.

"Good, that's not for a few hours." I said, and I pulled him back, wrapping my arms around his neck as we slowly lowered onto the couch. He kissed me harder this time, and we both got caught up in the moment. I trailed my fingers down his chest, arms, and collar which was left exposed by his shirt. I felt his hands at my waist, my back, my face, and back to my waist, but I honestly didn't care where his hands where ,I just wanted to feel him touching me. We were both growing warm, his skin was hot to touch, and I'm sure mine was no different. I felt conflicted; I know I'm supposed to be this innocent girl from Wisconsin. The Good Girl. And here I was, in Wisconsin mind you, with my boyfriend, the notorious Bad Boy, and we were making out heatedly on the couch. I know that wasn't really bad, but was it bad that I felt like I wanted more? I am human, I do have hormones, and yeah, you know, I'm thinking someday I would 'do it', hopefully with Chad, yes with Chad. I love him, it wouldn't be wrong right? Ugh, why am I thinking about this? I shook my thoughts away and just decided to live in the moment, because it was going to be gone soon.

"Sonny." Chad whispered, trailing kissing down my jaw, and making me sigh. "We have to leave soon."

"No…" I groaned, and I felt his lips smiling against the skin of my neck. "Never." I said content with letting this moment last a while longer.

"Sonny…" He whispered again, and I shuttered even though he was only saying my name. I let out a bigger sigh. "I know…" He purred in my ear. "I don't want to go either. You know I'd rather stay here."

He sat up, and pulled me up too, however reluctant I was. "Come on." He said standing, and grabbing his bag from the corner of the room. "Help me pack?" He asked me, and I stood but looked around.

"Pack what? You didn't really unpack." I laughed lightly, and he smiled.

"Your right." He said, and then he sweeped me back into his arms. "That means we have more time." He whispered in my ear, and I answered him by kissing his lips sweetly. "But we do have to leave soon." He reminded, and I nodded, pulling his face to mine. He laughed before I connected our lips again. "Somebody wants Chad." He said in a sing song voice. I rolled my eyes. "You know it's true." He said in a husky tone.

"Because I love you." I said, "That's why I want you."

"Good." He whispered.

About three hours later, we were walking into the airport, hand in hand. Both of us very unwilling. We were standing at the entrance to the gate, and even though we were being given VIP treatment, I wasn't allowed any further. I reached up and fixed a lock of his hair.

"Be good okay?" I told him, and he smirked.

"I'll try." He pecked me lightly, and then embraced me tightly.

"I love you." I told him again. "Don't forget that."

"I couldn't." He reassured me. "I love you too." The announcer came on over the intercom saying that they were about to start boarding his flight. . It surprised me he was flying commercial this time. Instead of loosening my grip and saying goodbye, I held onto him tighter. "I'm gonna miss you Sonshine." He said into my hair.

"I'm going to miss you too." I said, letting go and reaching up to touch his cheek. He leaned down quickly and kissed me again before turning to run off to catch his plane.

I felt wrong. Because this was not where we belonged.

**AN: Phew, that was a lot. But now that Chad's gone (for now, not forever) where do you want this story to go? Tell me what you want in a review pretty please? OH come on, I actually said pretty please. How often do you honsetly hear that? Uhuh, that's what I thought. Almost everyday. But whatever, this time you got it from me, and look what I did for you? I spent an intire day writing this just for YOU. So will ya? Thank you!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	9. Chapter 8 If you like it

**AN: I know, I haven't updated in forever, and I am greatly sorry for that, as well as for this beign such a sort chapter, the shortest one for this story so far. But just as the normal excuses go; I have been super busy with school. It sucks, becasue I would much rather write this story than papers on books that I barely read, but taht's the way it goes. I promise to update faster, and if I don't than I'm pretty sure that InspiredByTheCaliforniaSun will pester me into posting, because her message was the one that remindd me to work on this chapter this weekend :) Anyways, get to it!**

**Disclaimer: Too tired, but you knowthe drill**

I woke up the next day exhausted. I hadn't slept well the night before because I had been up all night writing. But last night I was up texting Chad. I know, kind of lame considering he had just left, but still; I missed him.

I yawned and looked out the window to see that the day was way ahead of me; it had to be at least eleven or twelve. Wait that meant…

I jumped out of bed and raced to get dressed. You know how your heart gets beating really fast when you rush out of bed in the morning? And you're instantly awake? Yeah, that just happened. I wasn't aware of what I put on, but I knew it was casual wear from the texture of the fabric on my skin. I was suddenly glad that I had taken a shower last night, because I had no time to now. I barely had time to run a brush through my hair and throw on some mascara so that at least I would look decent. I raced into my kitchen and popped a bagel in the toaster, then ran back to my room to quickly use the bathroom for other necessities. When I returned for my bagel, I quickly spread some berry cream cheese onto it before grabbing my cell, apartment keys, and clearance badge to get into the studio. Yes, I was late for work.

Five minutes later, I had successfully managed to job to work and eat my bagel before I entered the building. I was greeted at the door this time by the secretary Alice.

"Good morning Miss. Monroe." She said semi cheerily.

"Morning." I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Which wasn't a lot, but cut me some slack, it was a Monday.

"Mr. Mason was hoping you could meet him in your office when you got here." She said blatantly.

"Sure. Should I just go up?" I asked, just to annoy her. Yeah I know, I shouldn't mess with the people who so kindly work for me kind of. But hey, where's the fun in that?

I took the elevator up to the floor containing all the offices. And strolled down the hallway to Bill's office. I knocked three times, and let myself when I heard a muffled voice from inside telling me to come it.

"There you are Sonny!" Bill said smiling.

"Sorry I'm late, I over slept, late night." I told him sitting down.

"Sometimes those happen." Bill said understanding. "Well hey, now that you're here, I was hoping we could go over some details for the album." He said, getting down to business.

"Sure, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, scooting in my chair in front on his desk.

"Your album. We have to get cracking on that. We have what? Two, three songs? We have to have more, and we don't have a lot of time. Then we have to get working on the design, and promoting it, a lot to work on." He said, speeding up his talking as he went. I could tell he was starting to stress.

"Your right." I interjected into his rambling. "But I do have some ideas." I took a deep breath, a little nervous, but Bill was on my side, I just had to remember that. "My brother is an artist, and I was thinking I wanted him to design my album cover. I don't really want my face on it…" I wasn't sure how Bill would reply to that.

"Alright," He said a little slowly. "Why don't you give me his phone number, and I can talk business with him later?" That seemed like a good enough answer to me. I gave Bill all of David's information, and then moved on to my manager's next stressor. "And song wise, I have four recorded, and I have a couple to work on."

"Good, good. Let's see, I'm going to have to start getting photo shoots set up for pictures inside your album, you don't mind that do you?" I shook my head. "Good." He said again. "I'll start working on those, and as soon as we have your album cover put together, we can start promoting that in magazines. Sound good?" That must be his word today, but I nodded. "Excellent." Way to shake it up Bill!

Ten minutes later, I found myself leaving the large sleek building, and walking aimlessly back towards my apartment. That's where I liked to write my music, it seemed more private to me. Back and forth between the studio campus and my apartment was basically every day for me, and surprisingly I didn't mind it either.

I was breathing in the fresh air when my pocket vibrated. I reached down and took my cell from jeans.

_To: You_

_From: David_

_I'm comin to get u. B there in 5._

Sure David, I'll come hang out with you, thanks for asking! Obviously he was again texting while driving, so I didn't reply, but instead sped up to get back to my apartment. Once back inside, I grabbed my purse and checked myself in the mirror, then made my way back outside to wait for my older brother's car.

He pulled up moments later, and I jumped into the passenger seat.

"So…Is there a reason you just _had_ to come and get me?" I asked, buckling up and looking at him as he backed out of the parking lot.

"Yeah…" He let out slowly, not meeting my eyes and turning a little red.

"Are you going to tell me…?" I said pressing him for the answer. I mean really, he had to have a reason…

"Uh, well we have to go shopping." He said, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

"Wow, you picked me up to go grocery shopping. This will be fun." I said sarcastically.

"No, not grocery shopping. More expensive than that." So now he was going to make me guess?

"Pet store."

"Higher."

"Clothes store."

"I said higher, not lower."

"Vid, you have not been shopping in LA. Um, space shuttle shopping."

"Really Son, that's just ridiculous. No."

"Well then I give up." I said stubbornly.

"I'll give you a hint. Who was that girl who really hated you during high school when you went here?"

"Jewel? What about her?" I asked, way more confused than before.

"Not the person, the object. Elaborate on that."

"Why can't you just tell me!" He grinned at me smugly.

"Jewel, jewel, jeweler…" I saw him nodding, so I kept going. "Jewelry store, jewelry shopping…" Still nodding. "Bracelet, necklace, ring…" He tensed up, and smiled sheepishly. "Oh my gosh." I had suddenly dawned on me. "You're going ring shopping!" He finally turned to look at me, his face red with embarrassment.

"Yeah." He said really quietly. "But don't say anything."

"I won't! Oh god, mom is going to be so happy!" I said, elbowing him in the side teasingly.

"'Mom is going to be so happy.'" He mocked me, but I could tell he was pleased with how excited I was.

"So, where are we going?" I asked fidgeting in my seat.

"Jared's. Is that good enough for you?" I nodded; I didn't really care where we were going, in al honesty.

We pulled into the parking lot of a jewelry store fifteen minutes later, and I immediately unbuckled and jumped out of the car.

"Slow down there, Sonny." David laughed at me, but I kept going.

"Come on…" I urged him, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the store.

"Hello there! How can I be of help?" A middle aged woman in a navy blue skirt suit greeted us at the door. "Are you two looking for a ring?" She asked, eyeing my hands holding his.

"Oh! No," David said, chuckling softly, and a little awkwardly while taking his hand from mine. "Well yes, but not for us…" The woman blinked repeatedly, and David got a bit flustered; so I stepped in.

"He's looking for a ring for his girlfriend. I'm his sister." I said, clearing things up. David looked relieved, and the woman's facial expression changed from confusion to understanding.

"Fabulous. I'm Caroline." She held out her hand and David stepped forward.

"David." He said shaking her outstretched hand; then gesturing to me, he added "And this is my sister Sonny." I took he hand and shook it as well.

"Great to meet you. Shall we get started?"

Moments later, I found myself sitting next to David in front of a glass counter containing millions of dollars in jewelry, while Caroline stood behind it talking with David about what he was looking for. This part wasn't very interesting to me, David was basically just blabbering on and on about little stories about he and Sarah. Not that I didn't think it was cute, because it absolutely was with David sitting in his leather jacket with a white hoodie underneath looking like a motorcyclist, while gushing about how he and Sarah met, but I had heard it all before, many times. I took the chance to whip out my cell. I had one message that I must have missed from earlier.

_To: You_

_From: Chad_

_Hey, how was the studio today? I missed getting to c u, had a long day at work…_

I replied quickly.

_To: Chad_

_From: You_

_I didn't do much today. Missed you too! What happened at work? And you'll never guess where I am…_

I put my phone away, and looked back up to see that David had moved on to when he and Sarah had first moved in together. My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket again.

_To: You_

_From: Chad_

_Nothing super important, just didn't have much sleep… Let me guess, ur at a cow farm_

Typical.

_To: Chad_

_From: You_

_No im not at a cow farm. I'm ring shopping at Jared's :)_

_To: You_

_From: Chad_

_Woah, Sonny, I think ur moving a little fast there… rnt we a little young? haha_

_To: Chad_

_From: You_

_Haha, ur so funny Chad, not for me, for David, and DON'T TELL ANYBODY. I'm not even supposed to tell you.._

_To: You_

_From: Chad_

_Okay, I promise. Find anything good?_

I was about to reply, when David elbowed me.

"You going to help me?" He smirked, I nodded and typed a quick message.

_To: Chad_

_From: Sonny_

_Not yet, but we're trying. I gtg, talk to you later, love you!_

Then I silenced my phone and put it into my purse. I looked at David and said,

"Let's do this." He rolled his eyes, but within the next two and a half hours, I had learned everything I ever wanted to know about rings, and we had found the most beautiful diamond for David to propose to Sarah with. I was almost bursting; I was so excited for them.

"Remember, don't tell anyone." David said seriously to me on the drive back home.

"Yes, I pinky swear." I laughed at him. "How are you going to ask?" I had been pressing him on every aspect all day, which had annoyed him to the point where he stared answering all my questions with 'I don't know'.

"Uh, I don't know." This time however, he actually sounded nervous and not just fed up with my constant inquiries.

"Well you better figure it out soon." I smiled. "Otherwise one day I'll just have to call her up and ask her to marry you myself."

"If you did I would have to kill you. And then you couldn't be I in the wedding." He glared at me menacingly, but I didn't trust his expression.

"I get to be in your wedding?" I said excitedly.

"Maybe." He answered simply. But he grinned wide all the same.

**AN: So, what do ya think? Good? Bad? Want more of the David/Sarah story next chapter? Sonny's dad? Sonny to find out she was switched at birth with another baby, but that her birth parents are being deported? Wait, no, that's Gabby's daughter on Desparete Housewifes. Sorry, I'm always getting that and Sonny with a Chance mixed up. Wait, no I'm not... Anyways, who is as sad as me about Sonny and Chad breaking up? I know thats old news, but hey, I havent been on in a while...**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	10. Chapter 9 A Little Less Conversation

**AN: I know, it's been awhile, and yes it's short. I'm not goingto make an excuse this time. I'm lazy it's true. :)**

**Disclaimer: Nada**

A week had gone by, filled with Bill stressing, me having a terrible case of writer's block, having to constantly pester David about the ring, texting Chad while he was on breaks in between shooting, and reassuring my mom that "Yes, I was doing just fine," living in my apartment.

I began to feel a little lonely, and I was just sitting on the floor in the middle of my room with my guitar in my lap, surrounded by crumpled pieces of sheet music, when a thought dawned in my head. I still had done nothing about my dad. I hadn't even thought about it sense Chad and I had tried to return the call and ended up getting the voice mail. I slid my phone out of my pocket, and flipped through my recently called numbers. Mom, Chad, David, Pizza, Sarah, Tawni, Mom, Pizza, Mom, David, Unknown Number. I have no idea what possessed me to click it, but I did and the phone started ringing.

*Ring*

*Ring*

What was I doing? Just when I was about to hand up, I heard a click.

"Hello? This is Michael," I was shocked by the deep voice on the other line. I thought I wouldn't be able to speak, but I shocked myself even more when I did.

"Hi, this is Sonny." I noticed my voice getting quieter and quieter as I spoke the sentence, and there was a long pause when I was done.

"Sonny Monroe?" The deep voice asked incredulously.

"Yes." I peeped out.

"Wow, you sound so grown-up."

"Well, I am almost 18." I said, a little harshly, but did he really expect me to sound the same as when I was four?

"I know, your birthday is coming up soon isn't it? Are you doing anything special?" He acted like this was a completely normal conversation. Which it really wasn't.

"I'm not sure. But, was there a reason you wanted to talk to me before? That's really why I called you back." Yes, I sounded snobbish.

"Oh, right. Well, I haven't spoken to you for a long time." Try forever. "And I had wanted to get back in touch with you, but I just didn't know how. I finally got a hold of your number, off of some fan site of yours," Oh fantastic. "And, well here we are."

"Yeah…here we are…" I was highly unamused."So why did you want to talk to me?" Yes, I know I had already asked this, but there was truly nothing else to say.

"I..I just wanted to talk to you. See if I could get back to getting to know you."

"When exactly did you know me?"

"I'm sorry?" Damn, I did say that out loud?

"You left." I stated simply.

"Yes and I'm so sorry Sonny. It was irresponsible, and… and…" he was struggling to find words, his voice changing a little in his frustration.

"A mistake?"

"Well…yes. And I know you probably have moved on…or given up, I'm not really sure-"

"No you're not, because you haven't been here." I said bitterly. Something was eating at me, but while I was being snippy, might as well get it all out. "And you seemed to have moved on too? Am I right?" I asked, remembering the woman and the children from the answering machine.

"How do you-" He seemed surprised.

"I tried to call you earlier, and got your voice mail." I sat down slowly, sinking onto the floor against the wall where I had been standing.

"Sonny, it wasn't like that. Your mom and I got a divorce and…"

"You and mom got a divorce because you didn't want a family. And now you have a different one. A new one. A better one?" I could seriously feel the anger rising in me, I never acted like this, and would probably regret it later.

"Sonny, I truly do love you, and your brother. I was naive, and yes, I'm married now and have kids, your half-siblings, who devotedly watch your show I might add…" He was trying to change the subject, get me hooked on curiosity; I could just see his mind racing, like David does when he gets uncomfortable.

"Mike. Please don't talk about them right now. I don't, I can't…" I ran a hand through my hair, and clenched my eyes closed.

"I'm sorry. Sonny, I was wrong to leave, and I don't expect you to want to hear from me, or see me. But, I feel like I need to make an effort, I obviously didn't make one when I still had you. I really do think about you all the time. I love you. I hope I can talk to you again." He was finishing fast, I think the whole calling him by his first name threw him off. Good.

"Bye." I said, trying not to show any emotion. But I could feel the pricks of tears in the corners of my eyes.

"Bye Sonny." He said softly, and hung up. I dropped my phone into my lap, and put my head into my hands, letting the tears fall silently. I felt a huge rush of depression seep into my system, being alone in my apartment, my mom in a different town, by boyfriend in another state, my dad…gone, and all my friends scattered. Everyone was anywhere but here. Except me.

I was shaking, my feelings pressing me deeper into a state of loneliness, when my phone vibrated from the floor where it had fallen to off my lap. I picked it up, checked the caller id, and then answered.

"Hello?" I gulped out, knowing that I would immediately be seen through.

"Sonny? What's wrong?" Chad's voice was urgent.

"I, nothing." This wouldn't work either.

"Tell me." He said gently, his voice deep and worried.

"I, I called my dad." I choked out. "I called him, and talked to him. I don't know why, it was stupid. But he acted like… like nothing had ever happened, and then he acted like he cared. He said he loves me. And that he made a mistake, and I was just mean to him…" Yup, there's the regret. Told you.

"Sonny, calm down. You have every right to be upset at him. He's been non-existent for almost your whole life. And now he wants back it, which has to be overwhelming to you." He paused before adding, "Maybe you should tell David. He would feel the same way; he would know what you're going through."

"You're right." I said quietly. "Thank you." I tried to smile, even though he couldn't see me, then I cleared my throat. "Why did you call?"

" Oh, I just filmed the last episode of Mackenzie Falls. Well, me on Mackenzie Falls anyway." He said, obviously excited, but trying not to seem like it, for my sake.

"That's great Chad!" I said mustering up as much energy as I could, so that he knew I was okay.

"And, Mr. Condor has a new job for me…" I was surprised, and Chad sounded ominous, so I pressed him.

"And…."

"And…It's not acting. At least not yet."

"What are you talking about?" I laughed.

"That's all I can say right now. Maybe I can tell you more later…" I could just hear him smirking over the phone.

"Real mature Chad."

"What can I say? Chad Dylan Cooper gets all the good secrets..."

"What's that supposed mean?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing. But I have to go. I love you, and talk to David, seriously. If you need me, just call."

"I will, and I will. I love you too. Bye." I hung up, and thought about what his 'surprise' could be.

I stood slowly, and put my phone into my pocket before walking over to my kitchen to get some water from the fridge. I felt dehydrated from my crying, and once I had my glass, went into my bathroom to grab a Tylenol.

I settled down on my couch to read a magazine about Miley's latest 'mess-up', but was interrupted when my phone rang again. I flipped it open, and before I could say a hello, I was being screamed at.

"Sonny! You will never believe what is going on!" Tawni's shrill voice screeched at me, but then my phone buzzed, showing I had another call waiting.

"Tawni, hang on a sec." I flipped to my call waiting. "Hello?"

"The world is ending!" Zora shrieked at me, just as I got another call.

"Hold on." I switched again.

"Sonny… It's bad."

"Worst news ever."

Both Grady and Nico told me at the same time.

"Give me a minute." I pressed a button, and merged all my calls so I could talk to everyone at once. Bad idea. I now had four voices all pressing how horrible whatever it was they had to tell me was. Obviously, I wasn't going to like it. "Guys, guys, guys! Chill okay? Now Tawni, what is it?"

"They're planning on ending So Random!" She wailed.

"What?" I asked disbelieving.

"It's true! The just announced it!" Zora chimed in.

"Mr. Condor told Marshall, and Marshal just told us!" Added Grady.

"This is going to be our last season!" Nico butted in.

"No!" I protested. "How?"

"We're getting to old, we aren't funny anymore." Zora explained.

"That's not true!" I defended, I wasn't that old…

"They want a new show." Nico said, sounding sad.

"You guys were right. This is horrible. What's going to happen to us?" I asked solemnly.

"We have to finish the season, and then were over." Grady said sullenly.

"I can't believe it." I said.

"Me neither!" Tawni shouted. "I can't be out of the spotlight!" Of course it was about her image.

"Tawni focus. Not about you, about the show." I said, trying to get her on track and make a plan at the same time. We have to fix this. We have to be funnier. We need perfect sketches. You guys all have to work your hardest!" I said trying to be motivating.

"Can't you come back and do it for us?" Tawni whined.

"No, I wish I could! I feel bad not being there, but I have a contract here now too. I have to finish this album." I thought quickly. "But call me whenever you need me, and I can help you brainstorm okay?"

"A'ight."

"Yes!"

"Deal."

"Fine." Tawni grumbled. "Bye…"

"Talk to you guys soon!" Then all the lines went dead.

"Whew. That was a handful." I chuckled to myself. And then grew somber. My show was ending. What was I going to do? My brain felt fuzzy, and I needed to talk to someone. I picked up my phone and hit a speed dial, after two rings my brother answered.

"Sonny! I was just about to call you!" David panted into the phone, sounding like he had been running. "Actually, I was looking for my phone; thanks for helping me find it." He laughed cheerfully. "Whats up?

"Well, I have something I wanted to talk to you about." I said slowly.

"Me too!" He laughed. I hesitated, then spoke.

"You go first."

"I did it!" He shouted.

"You did it?" It took me a minute before it dawned on me. "You did it! Oh my gosh really?"

"Don't seem so surprised… I wouldn't have chickened out…"

"Uhuh. But really? You're getting married?" I was elated.

"Oh yes. Sarah is already trying to make plans." He chuckled heartily. "If she keeps going like this, we'll be married by next week."

"I'm so happy for you! How did you do it?"

"Well, I…."

"Yes…?" I asked.

"I ding dong ditched the house."

"You're joking." He didn't say anything, and I burst into laughter. "You really did? That's so great!" I could just picture him leaving a ring on the doorstep, and running away. Totally something he would do. "And she said yes?"

"What do you think?" He asked sarcastically. "Yes she said yes." He laughed. "Now what did you want to say?" I froze. He was so happy, I didn't want to bring him down with the news about my show, or shock him with the news about my dad.

"Nothing." I said quickly.

"Son, I know when you're lying." Thin Sonny, quick!

"I just wanted to say," Think, think! "That…" Come on… "Can I come over for dinner?" Wait what? "On Sunday?" That's three days away…what am I doing?

"Really? Wow, somebody must be tired of fast food." He teased, but he seemed to have bought it. "Yeah, I think we can squeeze you in. Hold on…"

"Sarah! Can we add Sonny to dinner on Sunday? That will bring us up to…three places to set at the table…" He yelled off the phone.

"You just love to make more work for me don't you?"

"Yes. It's true." I teased him back. "Anyway, see you then!"

"Bye Son." He chuckled, and hung up.

Wow, what a day. That's all I could think. Wow.

**AN: I know it's another short chapter, but Ithink it has a lot going on, and a lot of news. I hope that helps make up for it! One reason this is going so slow is I'm gettign short on ideas, leave areview telling me what you want to happen! I seriously want to hear what you want! Help me out guys! :)**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	11. Chapter 10 Sick Day

**AN: I know, it's been forever. And I know this isn't going to be a very good chapter. I hate to say this, but I'm starting to loose interest in this story. I'm thinking about the possibility of letting someone else adopt it... if anyone is even interested in this story anymore haha :) If you do want it, and I do decide to hand it off, I'd be happy to give you all my notes and plans for the story if you want to use them. Beleive it or not, this story does have a plot... somewhere deep inside...**

**Anyways, its all the usual excuses. Too much homework, busy life. All the crazy stuff that readers don't really care about, just like these author's notes. SO, on that note, I'm going to let you go ahead and read this chapter. It's not long, and I don't really like it, but it's here all the same. :)**

I woke up the next morning feeling stuffy. I tried to breathe in through my nose, and found that the task was physically impossible. I wrinkled my nose, ew, I hated being sick. I crawled out of my bed, and made my way to the bathroom. In the mirror, I saw a red swollen looking nose, and puffy eyelids. Yup, defiantly sick.

I found myself snuggled under a woolen blanket on my couch watching reruns of Criminal Minds a half an hour later; with a bottle of cherry cough medicine and a half eaten blueberry Eggo waffle by my side. I had already called Bill and told him I was sick, and he had told me to take the day off, but make sure to get better soon so we could get back to work. Typical, am I right?

Because I was too sick to sing, and I had already watched all of these episodes twice, I really had nothing to do but mull over everything that had happened in my head. Not exactly something I wanted to do.

My dad was "back" in my life, or trying to be, and I was the only one who knew. Chad was keeping something secret from me. The Falls was done with (at least filming anyway,) so what was he planning on doing next? David was getting married, which is a huge bout of happiness in my life right now, but then there's the fact that the TV show I'm a part of is getting canceled? What's up with that? I never was a drama person (always comedy you know?), so I didn't like everything that was happening for me now, not one bit.

I tried to distract myself from the depths of what was lingering in my mind, instead focusing on Dr. Reid, and how even though he had some interesting hair style choices, he always managed to look attractive. What a guy.

Chad and I used to watch Criminal Minds in between filming some nights. He always had to close his eyes at the gore; he just couldn't handle that, which I made fun of him for. And he would make fun of me on the odd day when I ended up crying at the end of the episode. What can I say, some of them were really touching, and some really sad… Chad called me a mush-ball one day; which doesn't sound very appealing, except that at this moment, I felt so lonely, that I really wouldn't mind if he was calling me a mush-ball, as long as that meant that he was right here next to me.

Suddenly I was jolted from my fantasies by a banging on my door.

"Who is it?" I called out, slowly getting up from the couch and walking to the door.

"Its David!" A low voice called out and I quickened my pace to let him in. "Wow, what ran over you?" He asked me as soon as he was inside.

"My life." I groaned returning to sit on the couch in the midst of my blankets and tissues.

"Uh oh. What's wrong now?" He asked sincerely, coming to sit on top of the coffee table next to the couch. Close enough to show he cared, but far enough away so that he was out of sneezing distance.

"Everything. You already know most of it," I said, letting him run through everything I've told him about in his head.

"Ah, but not all of it?" Of course he caught that, he's David. He always notices the little things.

"No, no you know it all…"I tried to fix, but it was too late.

"What is it you're not telling me?" He said, narrowing his eyes and looking at my face. I knew I'd crack, or he'd somehow read my mind and know exactly wt it was I hadn't told him yet, so I turned my head away and buried it in the cushion of the couch. "Sonny…" He said firmly. "I can wait as long as you want. I have nothing to do today."

"Sarah's going to miss you…" I said, trying to see if I could change the subject.

"I can always invite her over too." He threw in. I was beat.

"You aren't going to be happy." I said sitting back up and looking at him.

"I can handle it." He said confidently.

"I wasn't sure how to bring it up, or tell you. But a couple of days ago, I got a call." I paused, thinking ahead to try and come up with the best way to tell David about our dad calling me. "And it was from, well…"

"Sonny, spit it out." He said impatiently.

"Our dad. It was from our dad." I said dropping my gaze from his eyes, waiting for his reaction but not wanting to see it. There was a thick silence, and I flaced up quickly, thinking maybe he hadn't heard me, but he had. He was staring blankly, his forehead creased and the rest of his facial expression being stony.

"He called you?" He asked, but he put an emphasis on the you part.

"Yeah, but why do you say it like that?" I was actually hurt, David said it like… Like I was less than he was.

"I'm the older sibling, why wouldn't he call me?" Anger was flaring up onto his face, and I could feel heat on my cheeks too.

"I don't know David, all I know is he called me okay? But the first time I didn't answer because-"

"Wait wait wait, the _first_ time? He's called you more than once?" David's dark eyes flashed and he looked away.

"If you wouldn't just let me finish. I didn't really talk to him when he first called, and Chad had to hang up-"

"Wait, this was when Chad was here? And you just now decided to tell me…" He was obviously fed up with me, and I could see him storming out of here if I wasn't careful about what I said.

"David, please let me finish. I called him back later, because that's what he asked me to do, and he didn't answer. So it went to voicemail, and on it was him, a woman, and a couple of kids." I paused and looked at him.

"He didn't." David said, and if steam could really come out of your ears, I'm thinking it would have.

"He's married again. And he has kids too." I said, restating things so he knew it was permanent.

"Why did he call you?" He asked,, his voice cracking.

"He said he wants to get to know me again. He wants back in my life."

"Just yours?" He asked, sounding disappointed which shocked me.

"I, I don't know, he just called me and that's what he said. He also said he was sorry for leaving us." I didn't know what to do, I had expected David to flip a bitch and rant about our long lost dad, but he seemed frustrated, like he wanted to talk to him again. "Are you upset?"

"How could you ask that? Yes I'm upset. About _so_ many things right now. Why didn't he try to call me too? Why is he calling back now of all times? Does he really expect to just jump back in?" David trailed off, and stared at his hands which were clenched together.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly.

"It's not your fault. You didn't walk off." He said slowly.

"I know."

"Are you going to meet up with him?" He asked me suddenly.

"What? I , no I wasn't planning on it." I stuttered out.

"You should." David said in an even tone. "He obviously wants to talk to you." Both of us were silent again.

"Only if you come with me." I said softly, not sure what he would say.

"Fine. But don't expect me to be nice to him." His face was hard, his jaw locked and his eyes looked sullen. "Will you call him now? And set it up?" He asked hesitantly.

"Now?" I was confused. "David, you're acting really bipolar about this. Your mad at him, then you want to know more, then you're mad…" He wasn't meeting my eyes, but instead focusing on the carpet.

"Sonny, I don't know how to feel or act right now. I grew up without a dad. Convinced that I hated him because of that… But, I just have this conflicting feeling, like I _should _know him. Like any other kid should know their dad. I just….please?" I nodded. David didn't express himself very often, so thins was a rare occasion. And I knew how he felt, I was going through the same thing. We were in this together.

I took out my cell phone and scrolled through my recent calls to my dad's number, before pressing the call button. At the last minute, I pressed a button on the side of my phone, turning it onto speaker.

"Hello?" Said his voice after one ring.

"Hi, it's Sonny again." I said as confidently as possible.

"Oh, I didn't think you'd want to… Hi…" He sounded shocked and flustered.

"I just wanted to know, if you are still interested in talking more, would you want to get together? I'm in Wisconsin now, I'm not sure if you still live here, but…" This was just such an awkward conversation, I was surprised I had gotten this far.

"Sure! I'm still in the state, where are you living now? Still at the same house? We can meet at that old café, what was it called, Frank's? That's right around there, it would only be a half an hour drive for me." He rambled.

"Sure, I can do that." I said simply.

"Great, uh, when would work for you? Sunday? Around two or three?"

"Yea, that'd be fine."

"Alright, I'll see you then? Or did you want to talk about anything else right now?" He sounded like he didn't know how to say good-bye, which I understood.

"No, that's all." I said, before remembering something. "Except one thing, David's going to be coming with me."

"Oh, oh wow. I, yes, that's great." He stuttered. "I'll see both of you there then."

"Bye." I snapped my phone shut, and let out a sigh of relief before glancing at David across from me.

He was still sitting on the coffee table, completely silent, but there were tears streaming out of his eyes.

"Oh my gosh, David…" I moved to sit next to him, and hugged him close. I had only ever seen David cry twice. Once when he broke his arm after falling out of a tree in our front yard when he was eleven. The other time being at our grandpa's funeral. He hadn't even cried when our dad first left.

"I'm fine." He said hoarsely, then he cleared his throat. "That's the night you're coming for dinner, you can come early, and we can drive out to Franks. You can stay that night."

"Okay." I didn't argue with him now, he was upset enough as it was. I took my arms from around him and he stood up quietly heading towards my front door.

"He was so close. He left, but he stayed so near…" He spoke up after he had opened the door.

"I know." I whispered.

"Is it alright if I tell Sarah?" He asked taking a step out and I stood up to stand across the threshold from him.

"Of course." I nodded. "Drive safely." I added and he headed down the hallway. I closed the door and sunk down onto the floor.

"I can't believe I just did that." I mumbled to myself. Only for David would I ever have called him again. And now, I was going to have to meet up with him. What would I say? What would he look like? I had so much confliction bouncing around in my head; curiosity, fear, dread, anticipation. And who knows what else.

I gave myself a little time to gather my wits, and then I stood, contemplating what else to do with my day. I still felt sick, but it was sunny outside, so I grabbed some shoes and stepped outside to take a quick walk while it lasted.

I made my way down the stairs, through the parking lot and onto the street before turning to walk along the sidewalk towards the mini-mart I frequented down the street. I made a spit decision and walked inside the little store, browsing the shelves of candy, soda and other junk food type pleasures. Suddenly my eyes fell upon a glossy magazine at the end of the aisle. What I saw on the cover was a common sight for me, Chad. But the headline was what caused me to pause.

**Chad and Tawni Seen Strolling the Streets of LA, What Does This Mean for Channy?**

Chad and Tawni? They never get along. What were they up to?

I picked up the magazine, and flipped through the pages until I found the main article about my boyfriend and best friend being together.

**Photographers spotted Tawni Hart and Chad Dylan Cooper spending a day together taking a leisurely walk through downtown LA together last Friday. The two shopped made their way through multiple high end stores before stopping to enjoy a long lunch together in a French bistro. Witnesses reported that they were chatting and laughing like the best of friends, but what leads some to believe they could be more then that was the fact that CDC's current girlfriend Sonny Munroe was missing, and has been from the scene for quite awhile. Is Hollywood's IT couple now no more? Where is Sonny, and what is she going to do about her new relationship drama?**

I knew right away these couldn't be telling the whole story. Chad really hadn't left all that long ago, and we've been talking to each other all the time. And Tawni was my best friend; for one thing she hated Chad, and for another there was no way that she could hurt me like that and cheat with my boyfriend. Neither of them could. Right?

I was just finishing reassuring myself that my relationships were perfect, nothing was wrong, when I looked down the line of magazines and saw that all of them were about Tawni and Chad.

**Chawni the Next Channy!**

**Now that Sonny's Gone, Tawni Takes Her Place**

**Blonde Duo Together!**

**CDC Bad Boy Again!**

**Brunette Switched for Blonde**

**Tawni Better Suited for the Teen Star**

Ouch. Had to say that those headlines hurt. Each magazine was plastered with pictures of Chad and Tawni together in various places, malls, eating together at the studio, shopping in stores.

I immediately went for my cell phone in my back pocket, flipping it open and scrolling to Chad's number. Why hadn't he called? Surely he had seen some of these, I knew he had subscriptions to at least half of these magazines. Did he not want to talk to me?

On the other hand, if he had called, would it have been because he wanted to cover it all up? Maybe make up excuses as to why they were together?

I surprised myself when a tear slipped down my cheek. I hadn't even noticed I was crying. I quickly put the magazine in my hand back on the rack, and my phone back in my pocket. I had had too much drama today. That was my limit, and I felt about ready to explode.

I ran back outside, and pressed Chad's number.

*Ring*

*Ring*

*Ring*

Hey! It's CDC, can't get to the phone right now, but-

I ended my call and pressed speed dial 4, waiting for Tawni's number to pop up on the screen.

*Ring*

*Ring*

*Ring*

You've reached Tawni Hart! Leave me a message-

No, no no no no no. This wasn't what it seemed like. Just wait, everything would be okay.

But no matter how much I reassured myself, there was a nagging feeling in my gut that something was going on. My calls weren't being missed by accident. The hadn't called me yet for a reason.

Right now, what I needed was a long nap, and if I was lucky, I would slip into a dreamless sleep that would last me from now until tomorrow morning, when I could distract myself with work.

I did end up being partially right; after I had laid down in my bed, I didn't wake up until my phone alarm went off the next morning, blaring at me to get ready for work. Yes, work on a Saturday, but I had missed it yesterday.

Unfortunately, my dreams were more nightmares than anything. Chad using his acting skills to reassure me, only for me to find out the hard way that he was cheating on me. Tawni laughing at me and taunting me with how much better suited she was for Chad than I was. My dad actually being a horrible shadow I didn't recognize. My friends leaving me, my family disappearing.

I woke up sweating and still tired. But duty calls right? And right now, my guitar was calling too. My fingers itched. And my voice was ready to be used.

I threw on some cloths, snatched my guitar and left my apartment as quickly as possible to head down the street to the studio.

I had a date with some music.

**Let me Know what you think, where should I go with this? Is anyone still actually reading it? I might never know...**

**I am going to try and wrote more to this, althoughI'm not going to promise anything. I wrote this entire chapter today, but the document had been sitting open on my computor for months now. Again, I'm sorry :/**

**Anyways...**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	12. Chapter 11 Musical Date

**AN: Okay, so I've decided to continue it for now. I cranked out four more chapters, so the story should be set for awhile. Although don't expect updates to be super regular...lol. Sorry bout that :/ **

**Anyways, Its so good to know theres still people out there reading this stroy! Love you guys! :)**

"Sonny, what are you doing here on a Saturday?" Bill asked me when I found myself in his office.

"I just wanted to know if it would be alright for me to go and work in one of the recording booths? I don't have anything put together yet, but I just wanted a change of atmosphere." I explained, leaning against the doorframe.

"Of course it's alright. What do you have cooking up?" He and I left the office and made our way to the booths, so that he could unlock the entrance.

"Oh, just some… Changes in my life. I'm trying to get them out, and thought I might as well make some music to go along with it, right?" It really was how I felt, what better way to get my feelings heard then to release them in an album for the world to hear.

"That's the way a lot of artists feel, so I say got for it. If you make a hit, that's an added bonus for everyone." He chuckled, and I gave him a weak smile.

By this time we had made it to the recording floor, and Bill reached into his pocket to retrieve a huge key ring of jingling metal. He picked one key from the bunch and inserted it to the lock, letting the open door swing open, and gesturing for me to enter.

"Take as much time as you need. There's nothing scheduled for Saturdays, just make sure you're out before the place locks up. If you need me, I'll be doing paperwork in my office until 6." With that, he left me in the small recording space alone.

"Where to start…" I said quietly to myself. I let myself into the actual booth part of the recording studio, shutting the door behind me, and pulling a table from the corner to the center of the room. I placed my guitar case on top of it, and undid the claps keeping the case shut. I took out my guitar, sheets of music and multiple pencils, then stood there looking down at all my tools. I grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and settled down, with my guitar in my lap and a pencil in my hand. I tapped out a beat, first in my head, and then with my writing utensil, until I had something formed in my mind.

I needed to channel all of the horrible thoughts I was having, and just let it all out. That was the best thing I could do, so I though back to the magazines. All the pictures of Chad and Tawni getting close, acting like best friends; acting like a couple.

I remembered back to all the confusion I've had in my relationship. How manipulating Chad could be, how mean he was to me in the beginning. Pulling pranks, ripping me off with fake deals, teasing me and treating me like dirt.

What about when he came to stay with me? He was so sweet, he helped me with my dad issue, I trusted him, I let him in. What was he going to do with all of that now? Throw it away? If all this was true in the magazines, then that was exactly what he was doing.

He _is _an actor, what if this was just all an act? Or what if us being together had been an act? Our relationship got him all this extra publicity, he got a new public image, and now, maybe he was through with the new America's Good Boy, and wanted back his Bad Boy look. He and I being together could have benefited his image maybe that was his angle the whole time. And now, cheating was changing the angle again.

It's not like cheating is okay, because it's not, but with my best friend? Really Chad, really? I wasn't sure who to blame, but as long I was ranting about my boyfriend, might as well go in that direction.

I let everything flow out, letting the poetry make itself heard, piecing it together, pulling memories, and possibilities and making them into something that made sense to the circumstance.

Him spending time with me here, how he could be lying to me the whole time, being with my best friend, not calling me. Everything came out, and within ten minutes I had part of a verse, and I loved it.

_You sing to me, too bad you couldn't even stay on key  
If real life is such a mystery why don't you just stick to acting?  
Oh, here we go again, you couldn't find my number until when  
You thought that you could get to my best friend  
Without a script your game is lacking  
_

I remembered back to how much I loved him, and how when we had first started dating, everyone thought it was a horrible idea. Then to how and always had to have things go his way, even if it meant bending the truth. Sometimes it had seemed like he had no morals, when he messed up it wasn't his fault, and even if it actually was, he didn't apologize.

_You speak to me and in your words I hear a melody  
But in the twilight it's so hard to see what's wrong for me  
I can't resist until you give the truth a little twist  
As if you're gonna get away with this, you're not sorry_

I can't believe I fell for this

I really couldn't believe I had, had I really messed up this badly? Had he really made this big of a mistake?

_I fell through the hole down at the bottom of your soul  
Didn't think you could go so low  
Look at what you've done, you're losing me, here's what you've won  
Got me planning to go solo, solo  
_

I glanced up at the clock, it was 1:30, and I had already been here for four hours. Time really flies when your contemplating if your boyfriend is a cheater or not.

I looked back down at my work; what would happen if everything in the magazines was true? I would dump Chad, that's for sure. I would be so hurt, and ashamed that everyone had been right about him. That he hadn't been able to change, not even for me.

_I'd rather go out to a party alone  
Than have to walk around with you on my arm  
Now that I'm proud to admit that we're done  
Good luck, trying to find me  
_

Repeat the chorus here, add a little here, guitar solo, add drums….somewhere.

Reread, reread, reread, edit. And repeat.

Next time I glanced at the clock, it was 4:42, and I had a completed song. Just goes to show what you can do with a rant.

I got up, and stretched, my back and legs ached, and I could feel a headache coming on, but I wasn't done yet, I needed to have this song out of my life _today_.

"Bill?" I asked, walking into his office again, some five minutes later.

"You all finished?" He asked, standing up from his desk where he had been typing away and scribbling notes on a pad of paper.

"not quite, would you be able to come and work the sound board? I was hoping I could get this recorded." I said nervously, tucking some loose hair that had fallen out of my messily put together ponytail from earlier.

"Sure, you really finished already?" He asked me surprised. "That's quite a few songs you've blasted together in little to no time. How do you do it?" He laughed heartily as we made our way once again back to the studio.

"I just have some very good inspiration." I said in an even tone, not wanting it to come out bitter.

"Okay, let's get started." Bill said clapping his hands together and looking down at the sound board. I entered the sound proof booths back to my guitar and music, and took a seat in front of a microphone where I had put my guitar down earlier.

"You all set?" Bill's voice asked me over the intercom.

"Yeah, just give me a second." I put the heavy duty headphones over one ear, letting the other earpiece rest just behind my right ear; so I could hear myself play my guitar too. "Alright, I'm ready." I said quietly, and I saw Bill nod from the other side of the large pane of glass between us. "This is Solo, take one."

I began strumming, and closed my eyes, getting a hold of the emotion I needed to get for the song to come out right. Anger, disappointment.

**You speak to me and in your words I hear a melody**  
**But in the twilight it's so hard to see what's wrong for me**  
**I can't resist until you give the truth a little twist**  
**As if you're gonna get away with this, you're not sorry**

**I can't believe I fell for this**

**I fell through the hole down at the bottom of your soul**  
**Didn't think you could go so low**  
**Look at what you've done, you're losing me, here's what you've won**  
**Got me planning to go solo, solo**

**You sing to me, too bad you couldn't even stay on key**  
**If real life is such a mystery why don't you just stick to acting?**  
**Oh, here we go again, you couldn't find my number until when**  
**You thought that you could get to my best friend**  
**Without a script your game is lacking**

**I can't believe I fell for this**

**I fell through the hole down at the bottom of your soul**  
**Didn't think you could go so low**  
**Look at what you've done, you're losing me, here's what you've won**  
**Got me planning to go solo, solo**

**I'd rather go out to a party alone**  
**Than have to walk around with you on my arm**  
**Now that I'm proud to admit that we're done**  
**Good luck, trying to find me**

**'Cause I didn't think you could go so low**  
**Look at what you've done, you're losing me, here's what you've won**  
**Got me planning to go solo**  
**Now we're done**  
**'Cause you got me planning to go solo, solo, solo, solo**

I opened my eyes again, nodding a Bill that I was done. I heard a click in my headphones, telling me that we weren't recording anymore, so I took the time to pull the headphones from my ears to let them hang around my neck.

"Wow, Sonny that was great. Do you want to go back over it with some background music and extra vocals?" Of course he didn't question my motives for putting that song together, though I could see the evident curiosity on his face. Bill was too professional for that; his job was to find the artists, harness the music, and release it into the world.

"Yeah, we can do that, where should we put it?" I asked. And the two of us spent the next fifteen minutes collaborating on what kind of vocals, extra guitar, and other instruments should be recorded now or added in later, before we got down to business and finished up my parts for this song.

"Okay Sonny, we're going to call that a wrap. I can probably get everything else put together for this song on Monday, you can be there if you like, but you don't need to. I can get you the finished copy of the track probably Tuesday morning. But besides that, were done here?" I was already cleaning up my papers that were scattered all over.

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'm probably going to be out with David Monday morning, but I can come by later in the evening." I saw him nod from the doorway to my booth he was now standing in.

"Are you okay Sonny? I know you said that song was brought on by inspiration. But if you don't mind me prying, to me the song seems to be about a cheating boyfriend…" He looked concerned, and I was surprised to see this side of Bill, he didn't seem like a deep person. No offence to him of course.

"Well, it's mostly based on what I got from the magazine headlines. I don't know if you've seen them…" I trailed off when he nodded in understanding.

"Yes, I have. But I didn't think you were one to listen to everything the press says Sonny."

"I know," I said just barely above a whisper. I did feel guilty, I had never listened to the magazines before when there had been gossip about Chad and I.

"Have you talked to him?" Bill asked.

"I tried. But I didn't get through, and then I tried to call Tawni, and she didn't answer. Now I'm just scared of what information I might get when I finally do get a hold of them." I said slowly, ducking my head.

"Well, I would actually talk to them before I make any more assumptions. But I have to say the song was beautiful, no matter what the circumstances are." He said and I nodded. He was right.

We walked out of the building together, with Bill scanning through his blackberry the whole time.

"Oh, Sonny, forget what I said about you coming in to work on Monday." He said suddenly. "I can't believe I forgot." He chuckled.

"I'm sorry, forgot what?" I asked confused.

"Your birthday! Don't tell me you forgot too…" He said laughing more, and I smiled a little. I did forget it. Wow, so much drama that I forget my own birthday. Now that's a life. "Let me tell you an early happy birthday now then. Be sure that you aren't here on Monday though Sonny, I don't let my stars into the studio on their birthdays. You need to let loose and not think about work for at least one day." He said smiling. "Look at you; you're here on a Saturday. Who else does that but me?" He laughed again. "Now go home. Get some rest; you've had a long day." I thanked him and said my goodbyes, before walking myself down the street back to my apartment.

"I'm turning eighteen. I'm going to be a legal adult." I hadn't thought about this fact in a long time. It seemed like that had been my only daydream for the longest time, but in the recent weeks the idea had completely slipped my mind. I grinned to myself; I would be completely in charge of myself. I could really get my own place like this one.

Within minutes of returning home, I found myself flopped over on my bed, realizing how tired I really was from my day. Writing music really does take a lot out of you. Unfortunately, my stomach didn't agree with the idea of going straight to bed. And right when I was about ready to just close my eyes, it resounded in a loud growl.

"Oh come on," I groaned, pulling myself up and off my bed. I went to the kitchen, and found a clean bowl along with a box of captain' crunch and a carton of milk. I fixed my "dinner" and sat myself down at the table in the adjoining room. The remote to the TV was on the table in front of me from where I had put it earlier, so I clicked it and switched on my favorite gossip show.

"Chad Dylan Cooper spotted out with Tawni Hart yet again. Which brings out our regular question; where is Sonny and what is she thinking about all of this? Hollywood's favorite teenage couple, could they possibly already be broken up? That's the only reason I can come up with for Ms. Monroe to not have commented on this mess. Perhaps she's out getting over the break up, which could explain her seeming non-existence in the limelight these last few weeks." No, please, I've had enough. I switched off the TV again, and quickly finished my cereal.

This whole mess could be fixed with one or two simple calls right? My cell phone was soon in hand and ringing.

"You've reached Tawni Hart! Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Although I am a very busy person, so don't expect anything too soon…"

"Hey! It's CDC, can't get to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll try to catcha' later, peace out sucka's!"

No answer.

**AN: So what do you guys think is gonna happen? Any thoughts? lol. Let me know!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	13. Chapter 12 Rough Day

**AN: ALright, so I know it't been like a week and a half, but I haven't had any time to write anything new, and I want these emergency chapters to last a while :/ Anyways, thank you everyone for the lovely reviews! I love to hear from all of you :) HOpe you like the next chapter...**

"Hey hon! How are you?" Sarah asked me when she answered her front door, greeting me with a hug.

"I'm alright, what about you though? I want to see the ring!" I said excitedly. Sarah held out her left hand and showed off her gold banded ring finger, her face a bubble of joy.

"Isn't it beautiful? Although, I hear you were the helper at the jewelry store…." She smiled at me, and I couldn't help but to smile back. Sarah may be the sweetest person ever. "Anyways, come in, come in. David's in the living room." She stepped aside and I walked through the threshold, heading in the direction of the living room, where David almost always could be found in.

I was happy to finally have something to do, yesterday had been a boring blur; I sulked, ate, vegged on the couch and watched TV. Wash, rinse, and repeat to sum it up.

"Hey, you all set?" David asked me as I walked into the room. He stood up and I noticed he was looking nicer than usual, button down shirt, jeans without holes… The works.

"Whoa, somebody decided to brush their hair." I commented, trying to lighten the mood that seemed to be weighing so heavily on my older brother.

"Oh, thanks." He rolled his eyes. "But it looks like you forgot to."

"Hey!" I protested, raising a hand to my hair defensively. I had actually spent an hour on my hair this morning, trying to get the perfect high ponytail that was messy but didn't look slobby. That's right. Try and figure that one out.

"Okay children, calm down." Sarah scolded from the doorway. "Honestly, how many times do I need to tell you two to grow up?" She chuckled, and David and I composed ourselves, though our glares to each other remained firmly on our faces. Sarah came completely into the room and settled herself on the couch where David was getting up from. "Are you guys leaving?" She asked picking up a magazine from the coffee table in front of her.

David looked to his wrist to check his watch.

"Yeah, we have thirty minutes to get there. Might as well leave now." He shrugged looking in my direction. I nodded in agreement, and he walked to Sarah's seat and kissed her on the cheek. "We're off then."

"Bye, love you guys." She said waving sweetly, she seemed to be treading lightly, and it made me wonder if David might be as nervous as I was to go and meet my dad. And maybe if Sarah was as worried about what we might find as I was.

David and I exited the house and strode to his jeep to pull out of the apartment complex parking lot three minutes later.

"Do you remember where Frank's is?" I asked him once we were safely on the freeway to our original hometown.

"I think so, out past the post office, take a left off Main onto Garden?" He asked furrowing his brow trying to visualize it.

"That sounds right." I commented, and David nodded his head subconsciously.

The next few moments were spent in silence as David followed his own directions and the two of us swam in our thoughts and expectations for what would happen in the very near future. Before I knew it we were pulling into a small parking lot and David was shutting of the car's engine.

"Are we really going to do this?" He asked turning to me, with worry lines etched onto his forehead.

"Yeah. We really are." I said quietly. We glanced at each other uncertainly, and then slowly moved to unbuckle, open our doors, and slip from our seats to plant our feet firmly on the pavement outside of the safely of the car.

I looked to the buildings across from where we parked and saw the large neon sign reading 'Frank's Café'. I took a deep breath and strode across the street with my older brother close by my side until we were walking along just outside the coffee shop, next to the huge window showing how inviting the inside looked. I scanned the many chairs and tables for some glimpse of a familiar face, but was quickly disappointed.

David pushed open the glass door making a little bell attached above it tinkle as we entered the cozy coffee house. I kept my eyes on the people and noticed that when the door chimed one man in the corner's face shot up. He didn't look special, he actually blended in well; normal build, slightly over middle aged, a short brown beard to match his hair, and dark brown eyes. I had a feeling that if I was closer that they would match David's exactly. My own brown eyes met his, and I felt this intensity from them. He lifted his hand from the table he was sitting in front of as if to wave, but it seemed as if he couldn't pull himself together to do it right, or else he changed his mind half way through.

I nudged David gently with my elbow, and he looked in the direction I was staring in.

"Is that him?" He whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah." I breathed out. David surprised me by stepping in front of me and leading the way through the many tables to the specific one we wanted. As we approached, our dad stood up hesitantly, his eyes flicking between the two of us.

At first the three of us just stood there. As if taking in the moment and trying to grasp the severity of the situation. David surprised me by first breaking the silence and reaching out his right hand.

"Mike." He said firmly, grasping the older man's hand which he stuck out timidly.

"David." He said blinking rapidly, he made this odd face as if the name he had just said hadn't been quite right. "And Sonny." He said turning to me. Part of me wanted to reach out to him, but a hand shake didn't seem as if the thing to do. And then the other part of me, the stronger part, decided that I was simply going to nod to acknowledge him.

"Please, sit." He said gesturing to the seats in front of him. We did just that, and then my dad raised a finger in the air and spoke to the waitress standing nearby. "Excuse me, miss? Would you be able to take their drink orders real quick?" She came over with a pad of paper and pen poised in her hand.

"Just a drip for me." David said without thinking.

"And could I get a mocha with an extra shot? And no whip please." I added. I wanted to the man sitting in front of me to see me as an adult. Otherwise, I probably would have gone for a hot chocolate.

"Right away." She said before taking off.

"So, how was the drive over?" My dad said slowly.

"Fine. Didn't take long." David said.

"We came from David's apartment." I supplied.

"Oh, so you don't live in the farm house anymore?" It seemed so strange for my mom's house to be called that by him.

"No, I moved out when I left for college." David said blatantly. "Four years ago."

"Oh, of course." My dad said flustered.

"I'm not living there either." I said, just wanting to be heard and add in my own part.

"But, you should still be in high school." He said confused.

"I know, but it's the summer." I pointed out.

"Right." He said frowning.

"Right now I'm living in an apartment down the street from the studio where I'm recording an album." I saw surprise flash across my father's face. "David's working too. He went to art school." I waited for my brother to jump in, but a glance over at him told me that he wouldn't be talking anytime soon. "So he paints, draws and designs now."

"Wow, a lot changes." He mumbled, and I say David shift.

"Yeah, a lot changes. What did you expect? Sonny and I to stay the same age forever?" He scoffed. "Sonny and I learned to drive. I graduated. She went off to be on her TV show in LA. I moved out. She got a boyfriend. I moved in with my girlfriend. She came back here to record her music. I proposed. We both have futures."

"I didn't think, it's just….a lot." He said quietly. "I'm sorry. I know that both of you must have a lot of different emotions towards me right now."

"Got that right." David snorted. "The last thing you said to us was 'I don't care'. After that nothing, no phone calls, no birthday cards. You disappeared. And here you were the whole time just moving on and getting a new family." He said heatedly.

"David, what I did was wrong. I know that. And I am so sorry. I know that's not healing anything, but I do want to you to know that I do apologize for what I did."

"So you decided to fix that by what? Replacing us? Tell me about your new kids 'dad'." This was getting really out of hand.

"David, calm down." I said putting my hand on his shoulder. I say the fists he was clenching release a little, and the tension in his jaw slacken.

"Sorry." He muttered, whether to me or our dad I wasn't sure. But nobody spoke until the waitress brought over David and I's coffees.

"Thank you." I murmured. "David, I know you're upset. And I know why. Talking about it is a good thing to do, but try and think about what you say before you say it." I surprised myself with those words, because I had been biting back a few words myself.

"I'm so sorry you two. I know I made a lot of huge mistakes, and I won't ever deserve to be forgiven. But I wanted to see you because I wanted to see how much I missed out on. I don't deserve to be back in your lives. But I do deserve to see everything I gave up on. You two are both so successful and beautiful people." Our dad dropped his gaze to his hands.

"You're right. This is your punishment." David said bitterly.

"I do want to hear all about you." I looked at David, and he looked back. I couldn't make sense of the older man sitting here in front of us. He said he didn't deserve to know us, but he asked anyways. David just glared at him, and I sat silent. Trying to figure out how to piece everything together. "But I understand that you don't want to talk." I did want to talk. Sort of. I was curious about his new family. What he did when he left. Why. "So I can just go." He stood to leave, but I stopped him.

"I'll make you a deal." I said quickly. "You tell us about your new life. And we'll tell you what you missed."

"Sonny." David hissed.

"Come on, tell me you aren't curious." I whispered back, David narrowed his eyes at me but didn't object again. Our dad slowly sat back down at the other side of the table again.

"What do you want to know?" He asked hesitantly.

"What do _you_ want to know?" I asked him back. He thought for a moment.

"Did David say he proposed?" He asked looking at my brother. David was sitting sullenly, with his arms crossed over his chest and his back slouched back on the chair.

"Yes." He said shortly. I shot him a glance that I hoped said _Come on if you give crappy answers he'll give crappy answers back._ And apparently that message came to him clearly, and he continued with a sigh. "To my girlfriend, Sarah. We had been dating for three and a half years, living together for two. So I went for it I guess." He said kind of awkwardly. Our dad nodded, and then looked to me for my question.

"Tell us about your wife." I said softly, but keeping my stare hard.

"Well… Her name is Rebecca. We met in," He cleared his throat. "AA. And we've been married for ten years." So he moved on four years later. I was ten, David was thirteen. "Sonny, David said you had a boyfriend?" I snorted at this.

"I thought you said that you read the magazines? Yeah, I've been dating Chad for seven, almost eight months now."

"Chad? Like Chad Dylan Cooper? That kid on that TV show?" He seemed surprised.

"Yes. Chad, like Chad Dylan Cooper." I sighed. "He's not a kid though, he's eighteen." I pointed out.

"Doesn't that make him too old for you then?" He said raising his eyebrows.

"You don't get to do the whole protective thing." I said. "That's David's job, and he's doing just fine." I huffed out.

"You were in AA?" David spoke up after the awkward silence that passed between us all.

"I still am. I'll always be recovering. But I've been sober for ten years too." He said calmly, Like this was something he talked about often.

"How's your mom?" He asked next.

"No, you don't get to ask that." David snapped at him.

"We haven't told her about your, calls." I said slowly, and he nodded.

"Tell us about your kids." I said, this was by far the thing I was most curious about, but I was nervous to ask it.

"I have two others." He said making sure that we heard others. "Rachel is nine, and Bethany is seven." He paused, and then said slowly, "I have their pictures in my wallet…" He said reaching unhurriedly for his pocket. He pulled out a small leather wallet and unfolded it to produce a picture of two small smiling girls with light brown hair and blue eyes, and a light haired woman with the same eyes standing behind them waving at the camera. I could see him in them, and I felt a pang of jealousy. He didn't have our pictures in his wallet.

"Do they know about us?" David asked, staring at the photo in front of him.

Our dad nodded. "They like to tell their friends that their sister is on So Random." He must have seen the hurt that flashed in my eyes, because he quickly added. "I've tried to explain the whole situation to them, how you guys are half siblings, and how the reason they haven't met you is because we don't…get along? Because I hurt them, but they continue to say that Sonny Monroe is their sister, and that they have an older brother. In fact, last week Beth came home all angry because when she told some boy who was being mean to her at school that she had an older brother who could beat him up he called her a liar…"

"Please," David croaked. "Please stop." Our dad clammed up.

**AN: Hows that for a wee bit of drama? Any good? It was a little hard to write, there was a lot going on in this conversation and a lot of different emotions to filter at different times. But I got it out the best I could haha :) Review for me? **

**Cheers! **

**RedHeaded4Always**


	14. Chapter 13 Birthday Messages

**AN Okay, so I still haven't been able to write any new chapters, but that's what these spares are for right? Lol. I'll just let you read...**

Sonny's POV

"Sonny, can you please tell me something good?" David said; his eyes on the road ahead of us. We had just left the café, and David had rushed me out to escape to the safety of his car.

"Um," I dug through my mind to pull something out that would occupy David for a moment, so that he could try and clear his head. "Bill Mason said that he wants you to do the cover for my album."

"Wait, really?" He said taken aback. I saw his shoulders relax from their stiffness they had held while talking to our dad.

"Yeah, I told him about your work and he liked the idea. It's a done deal if you're interested."

"Yeah I'm interested!" e said pleasantly, and then he sobered up. "So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I had expected that to be so much different. Seeing…Mike…I mean." I explained.

"Yeah, me too." He nodded. "I'm sorry I freaked out. I just got irked. He was talking about his new family, and the smile on his face when he started talking about his kids… I couldn't deal with that." Not right now."

"I understand. I'm sorry I pressed him about the kids. I was just curious. Don't tell me that you weren't wondering about your long lost siblings." I said seriously.

"Half siblings." He corrected.

"I feel so strange. I always wanted a little sister, and now two just drop into my life. But I don't know them at all." I said softly.

"Do you want to?" David asked questioningly.

"I don't know." I said, and that was the truth. Did I want to meet these little girls?

"I don't feel anything for them. Just because I know their names and we share a dad doesn't mean that I feel an instant connection." David said as we pulled into the parking lot in front of his apartment complex. He pulled into his designated space and cut the engine. The two of us sat there for a moment, just thinking about what had been said at the café.

"We should go inside, Sarah probably has dinner ready." David spoke first and climbed out. I followed him out of the car and up that stairs to his door which he unlocked and entered through.

"We're home!" David called out, tossing his car keys into a dish by the front door.

"Hey! Hope you're hungry, I made lasagna." Sarah called back from their bright kitchen to the right. He and I walked in that direction to find David's fiancé pulling a hot pan out of the oven and setting it on the counter. She saw us standing there and grinned, taking off her red oven mitts. "Feel free to help by setting the table." She said moving her arm in a sweeping motion towards the cabinets.

"Alright, I can take a hint." David sighed.

"You really have him whipped." I joked with Sarah.

"You can help too, I know there's the whole 'you're the guest thing' but you're not really a guest…" She laughed at me, and I stuck my tongue out at her.

Together David and I hurriedly set out the plates, glasses and silverware while Sarah finished the salad and brought the food out.

"Okay, all set then. You may sit." She directed and the two of us complied. "I'm a little afraid to ask, but how did it go?" Sarah asked hesitantly while passing the bowl of salad across the table to me.

David and I exchanged a glance.

"We saw him. We talked." David shrugged.

"That badly huh?" Sarah asked.

"He told us about his wife and kids." I provided helping myself to the pasta dish.

"Oh, wow…" Sarah trailed off.

"Yeah. Drama." David mumbled to his plate.

"So, what did he tell you? If you don't mind me asking…" She said.

"Um, his wife is named Rebecca? And they met in AA…" I started, and David surprised me by continuing.

"And he has two daughters, Rachel and Bethany. Nina and seven." He mumbled out.

"David, I know this is hard, I'm sorry…" Sarah said reaching across the table to place her hand on his. David looked up at her and smiled weakly. Their esters to each other made me jealous, and lonesome. I wished Chad was here. But he still hadn't tried to call me back. He hadn't even texted me…

The three of us spent the rest of dinner passing small talk among us and happily eating while trying to keep today's events on the outskirts of our minds.

"Thank you for dinner." I said smiling at Sarah when I brought my dishes back into the kitchen where she and David were washing them at the sink.

"You're welcome hon! The guest room is all set up for you if you're tired. Otherwise I was thinking of watching TV." David looked at me with pleading eyes. I knew what this meant. Sarah only ever watched Glee, it was her guilty pleasure. Unfortunately for him, David didn't share that love for the show.

"Oh, I'm not quite tired yet. So if you don't mind me joining you…" David gave me a smile in relief from his spot drying the plates.

"Of course! The more the merrier." She smiled sweetly.

A few minutes later the three of us found ourselves settled on the couch in the living room, with the TV switched onto Sarah's recorded episode of the musical drama. David suffered for forty six and a half minutes before Sarah's show was over, and I enjoyed laughing at him the entire time.

"You okay Sonny?" Sarah asked me after she clicked through the options until the show was deleted.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." I giggled. "But I think I need to sleep, that could be my problem." Sarah nodded and David glared at me, but then winked playfully.

I said my goodnights and left the room to the small guest room, set aside for mostly just me, at the end of the hallway. I picked up the backpack I had brought with me this morning containing everything I needed for the night, and let myself into the hallway bathroom to change into gray plaid pajama pants and a green tank top. I then let my hair down and brushed it out, then attacked my teeth with the mint toothpaste and yellow toothbrush I had in 'my' drawer in Sarah and David's bathroom.

I made my way back into the guest room and turned down the sheets before flopping over on the bed. I laid there staring at the ceiling, just letting my mind wander until I heard a little chiming noise come from my phone. A text. From Chad? I felt my heart race as I leaned over the side of the bed to locate my phone, wherever it had landed when I tossed it earlier.

**1 New Message**

I clicked open and quickly read the screen, my hopes dropping in the process.

_To: You_

_From: Mom_

_Hey baby girl! I know you're in bed (or should be) but I wanted to be the first to say happy birthday! Love you sweetie, and talk to you tomorrow :)_

I exited the screen and checked the clock; it was 12:00 am exactly. My mom was good; I had to give her that.

I laid back again, waiting for my phone to go off again. Hoping and praying that all my worries would be whisked away and Chad would text me clearing everything up. But I was disappointed when I looked up again and it was 12:30.

I grudgingly got up and walked myself into the kitchen to get a glass of water. But water wasn't exactly what I needed. Because it wasn't blonde, or blue eyed. Or my MIA boyfriend.

I stood over the sink with the glass in my hand, and I felt tears pricking the edges of my eyes. Why was everything so hard right now?

"Sonny? Honey are you alright?" I heard a quiet voice come from the doorway. I turned and quickly wiped my eyes with the back of my hand trying to remove all traces of my recent weakness.

"Yup, I'm great." I said, but my voice cracked and Sarah saw right through me.

"Sonny, what's wrong?" She asked gently, coming to stand next to me and putting a calming hand on my shoulder.

"Really, it's nothing." I tried to reassure her.

"Sonny, come on." She said, and she lead me back to the guest room and sat me down on the bed. "Now tell me." She ordered.

"I don't know where to start." I confessed.

"Is it your dad?" She asked.

"No, not that. I can deal with that."

"Is it Chad?" She tried. My silence answered her question loud and clear. "Oh Sonny." She said leaning forward and hugging me closely. "What did he do?"

"I don't know. He might have done something, or he did according to all the magazines." I said hoarsely.

"Sonny, wasn't it you who told me not to believe everything the magazines said?" She said firmly. I nodded reluctantly. "You talked yourself into thinking they were true didn't you." I nodded again.

"It just suddenly seemed so possible when I thought about it." I admitted. "And then when I tried to call him, he didn't answer. And that was days ago; he still hasn't called back."

"Hon, everything is going to be fine. I highly doubt that Chad would do anything those magazines are saying he did." So she had seen them then.

"What makes you say that?" I sniffled.

"For one thing, you have David as an older brother, and I don't know about you but I would not want to have him to answer to if I was someone who broke his little sister's heart." We both laughed tenderly at the joke. Then Sarah got more serious, "And on anther note, how could you miss the way he looks at you?" I remembered staring into his eyes, the deep blue, and the safety that came with them.

"I don't, I just don't read into them…" I said sheepishly, now feeling fed up with myself.

"Sonny, don't beat yourself up about this. Every girl has moments when they feel self conscious about themselves, and then we worry about our men." She laughed a little. "But just know that everything _will_ be okay. You'll see." She smiled at me and wiped away the tear that was lingering on my face. "If you need me though, I'm right here for you." She stood up and headed for the door, flipping off the lights as she left.

"Goodnight hon." She whispered, and then shut the door.

I don't know when, but sometime during the night I must have slipped into the realm of sleep, because I woke up to the noise of birds twittering outside the window, and cars were roaring by on the street. A glance at my phone told me that it was 8:45, too early to truly be up, but to late in the morning to be able to go back to sleep; what withal the light pouring in the window.

I groaned my way out of the full sized bed and padded barefoot out to the kitchen. The room was silent, and so I helped myself to whatever might be in the fridge; turned out that Sarah had been thoughtful enough to leave me a plate of pancakes in there. Along with a note:

_Hey Hon!_

_Happy Birthday to you from your brother and I! Sorry we couldn't be here this morning, but I got called into my office at the temp place I'm working at, and David had to talk to the guy who owns the studio we're renting. _

_Stick around as long as you want! I'll try to call you later, and make sure you keep your head up!_

_Love you!_

_Sarah_

I smiled at the scrawling script she had written on the scrap of paper. Just like Sarah to make sure everyone was taken care of. Not that I was complaining about the food; that was very much appreciated.

I warmed up my plate in the microwave and poured on the syrup, indulging myself a little. Hey, it was my birthday right? Though it didn't seem like very many people had noticed.

After I had eaten my fill, I washed my plate and went to stretch out on the couch in the living room. I flipped through the channels until I found a Grey's Anatomy rerun marathon. So far, that might have been the highlight of my day. I watched intently, trying to will myself into being interested by this episode.

But it wasn't quite working. The back of my brain was still buzzing with old memories of old birthdays.

My eighth birthday party; themed princesses.

The tie-dye party I had when I turned eleven.

My sixteenth birthday when I had a camp out in my backyard. Girls only of course.

And now this year, eighteen years of being alive, and I have nothing planned. Even if I tried to throw something together, who would I go out with? My boyfriend was is LA, along with most of my friends. Lucy was on a vacation to Texas to see her cousins. All my other friends had pretty much moved on. The rest of my options included my brother, his fiancé, and my mom. Not exactly the ideal party crowd.

My lounging around eventually ceased to entertain me at around nine thirty, watching George's death scene for the fifth time was not as emotionally gripping as it had been before. I tried to dose off, but was soon interrupted by my mom calling my cell phone.

"Hello?" I said answering.

"Hey sweetie! You got my text message right? I said I was going to try and call…" My mom's voice said uncertainly.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Oh good! Anyways, I wanted to know if you wanted to come over for lunch. I know it's your birthday and you probably have better plans, but I just thought I'd call to see if you were free." Came her bright voice from the other line.

"Oh," Guess I would be 'partyin' it up with my mom then. "Sure, I'd love to."

"Great! Do you want to come over now?" She asked, sounding hopeful.

"Yeah, I'll just get dressed and then drive over." I said.

"You can just come over as you are," She said. "I'm still in my pajamas too." She laughed.

"Alright, I'll be over soon then." I said smiling.

"See you soon!" She said cheerfully. "Bye!"

"Bye mom."

I hung up and went back into the guest room, gathering up all my stuff; cloths from yesterday, hair brush, phone, charger etc, and then zipped it all into my backpack before heading down the hall and out the front door. Outside I found the spare key under the mat, and locked the door quickly before finding my jeep in the parking lot and climbing inside.

I sent a quick text to David and Sarah telling them both that I was heading over to mom's, and then started up my car and pulled out of the parking lot.

I focus on the trees whizzing by as I drive down the road to the outskirts of my childhood home.

I wind my way down the familiar streets until I pull up in front of my mom's house. The whitewashed fence outside an ever present and welcoming sight. I jump out of the front seat and walk quickly up the front walk to the door, and enter without knocking, knowing that it would be unlocked.

"Anybody home?" I call out, announcing myself.

"Upstairs!" I hear my mom's voice call out. I bound up the steps to the second floor of our old-fashioned farm house, and find my mom in her office.

"Hey sweetheart!" She says beaming when she sees me.

"Hi!" I say happily, walking towards her and bending down to hug her where she was sitting in front of her computer.

"Let me look at you," She says holding my face between her hands, making me roll my eyes.

"Please mom, you _know_ that I don't look any older…" I laugh sarcastically.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure…" She said lightly. She then pulled her hands away and in the process knocked over a cup of coffee that had been sitting on the desk. "Oh! Gosh Connie!" She said scolding herself. "Honey, can you go and grab a towel from the linen closet please?"

"Yeah, be right back." I said sprinting into the hallway and turning the corner to the closet holding all the towels in the world. Or at least that's what it seems like. "Really mom, you should learn to be more careful with-" I began laughing, but froze when I swung the door open.

"No way." I gasped. "What are _you _doing here?"

**Cliffie! So who do you think it is? I have a feeling about what your thinking, and your wrong. Just to let you know. Haha, don't you love that I can read your mind? Freaky isn't it? Yeah, I know, I sound like a loser...lol. Anyways, let me know what you thought of the chapter! And GIVE ME IDEAS because I'm having a huge writers block problem. Maening, give me any ideas at all; I welcome the stupid and ridiculous because sometimes they work as a little inspiration! Haha, love you all.**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	15. Chapter 14 Feeling Loved

**AN: Okay, I only have one other back up chapter left, but I think I know where I want this story to go again. It might just take longer than I thought. I don't know, we'll see! Don't forget, I love to hear all your ideas!**

Sonny's POV

"Lucy!" I squealed, reaching forward to hug the girl standing in my mom's linen closet.

"Sonny!" Lucy shrieked back, hugging me tightly.

"Oh my gosh! You're supposed to be in Texas!" I protested.

"Oh my gosh! You're turning eighteen today! I can't miss that!" She countered, laughing and swinging her red ponytail.

"So you and my mom planned this?" I asked, and before she answered I saw her glance over my shoulder. I turned around and saw my mom standing behind us in the hallway, shaking her head at my friend, and then stopping quickly when she saw me staring.

"Yeah, you're mom and I…" She said slowly. I gave her a stern look. "Really!" She insisted, and I decided to let it go, I'd much rather spend time with my friend then focus on questioning her.

"I can't believe you're here!" I said, hugging her again.

"Well you better believe it! And believe this too, we are going to par-tay tonight!" She said excitedly.

"What do you mean…?" I said warily.

"I mean, you and I need to get ready for tonight! Because I have plans for us!" She clapped happily. "It's all set up. You and I are going to go dancing at this club the next town over! It's an under 21 type thing, all safe and such.." She assured me, her eyes twinkling. I looked back at my mom again.

"Don't look so worried Sonny, it's all cleared with me." She laughed. "Now go and glam yourselves up!' She said shooing us towards my old room.

"But I don't have anything here anymore…" I said anxiously.

"I got you covered," Lucy winked at me, pulling me through the door. I looked around and saw that she was right; all of my fancier party-type clothes were spread out across my bed, and by the vanity in the corner I saw all of my make-up and accessories were piled high.

"Did you break into my apartment?" I laughed.

"Uh, yes." She said hesitantly.

"You don't sound too sure…" I chuckled.

"I am! I am!" She insisted again.

"Alright. Well, were do we start?" I asked scanning the room again, this time noticing the giant card board box filled with shoes at the end of my bed.

"With music!" She said announced, running over to the dock by the bed and plugging in my yellow iPod.

"Wait, you took my iPod too?" I asked. "Now this is just getting creepy…"

"Hey, I was just thinking everything through!" She smiled. She scrolled through some music and then cranked it up to pound the Glee Cast version of Don't You Want Me.

Lucy then skipped over to my vanity and grabbed a hairbrush to use as a microphone for her lip syncing performance.

"Lucy!" I giggled out. "Focus!" She doubled over laughing, but ditched the hairbrush and joined me by my bed, looking over all the dresses.

"Hmm…" She said, tapping her lip with a finger. "That one." She pointed. I picked up her choice and looked it over.

It was a dark blue strapless dress that hit about mid-thigh, with an elegant flower pattern scattered across it in black.

"Okay, good choice I guess…" I liked the dress, and I hadn't had a chance to wear it yet..

"You guess? Oh no way…" She said in a 'no-you-didn't' kind of way. "This dress is perfect, and you are going to rock it." She said firmly.

"Yes ma'am!" I said saluting her.

"Good, now pick shoes." She directed, trying to suppress a smile. I went to kneel by the cardboard box, and pawed through the many shoes it contained.

"These?" I asked pulling out plain black heels.

"I don't think so…" She said shaking her head and looking thoughtful.

"Then how about…" I scanned the contents of the box again. "These?" I held up a pair of silver heels; not shining, but you know, a dull glean…

"Perfect!" Lucy said clapping her hands together. "Now can we please do your hair?" She pleaded.

"Why? What's wrong with my hair?" I asked defensively.

"Well, to be honest you look like you just got out of bed." She said seriously, and I pouted. "Oh, get over it. We'll go fix you up." She laughed heartily.

Three hours and a tray of snacks brought up by my mom later, I was showered, hair blow dried, and Lucy was tightly curling my hair while I was carefully applying my make-up.

"Where did you say this under 21 club was again?" I asked closing one eye so that I could draw a line of dark brown eyeliner on.

"Oh, uh….just the next town over…" She mumbled.

"That's really specific…" I laughed.

"It doesn't matter. Because I'm done!" She said setting down the hot iron. I stood up straight and looked at my reflection in the vanity mirror.

My brown hair was curled gently in ringlets, and sprayed in place; Lucy had always been the professional when it came to hair.

"Thanks Luce! You're the best!" I said turning to hg her.

"Watch the dresses girl!" She protested, holding me an arm's length away. She had changed into a deep red one shouldered dress while I was in the shower, and she had been able to perfect her own hair in five minutes flat.

"Sorry," I giggled, giddy just to be with someone else. "Do we need to leave now?" I asked her, standing in front of the full length mirror on the back of my closed bedroom door.

"No, not yet…." Lucy said slowly, checking the watch around her wrist and then fidgeting with the edge of her dress.

"Lucy…" I said suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.

I was going to press her about why she was acting so funny, when she jumped at the sound of her phone buzzing. She picked it up and flipped it open, her eyes scanning it hastily.

"We can go now," She said closing phone and smiling brightly. I gave her a weird look and she shrugged. "What can I say? I'm trying to keep a schedule." I shook my head at her and leaned over to turn off the music that had been pounding in my room the whole time.

The two of us walked out of my room and to the stairs, but I stopped at the top with a puzzled expression on my face.

"Mom?" I called out into the odd darkness that was the downstairs portion of my mom's house. There wasn't an answer, so I tried again. "Mom?"

"Maybe she stepped out?" Lucy suggested, pushing me lightly to the stairs.

"Uhuh…" I said skeptically. But was walked down the stairs slowly, trying to give my eyes time to adjust. But I didn't have a chance.

All the lights down stairs were flicked on at once and once the flash faded out of my vision I saw all the people flooding the rooms.

"Happy Birthday!" Resounded throughout the house, and I felt tears prick my eyes. At the bottom of the stairs I saw Chad grinning up at me, all dressed up in a light blue button down that complimented his eyes, and gray slacks.

I ran down the rest of the stairs and leaped into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck tightly and burying my face against his shoulder.

"Hey Sonshine," He chuckled, encircling my waist with his arms and placing a kiss on the top of my head.

"Did you do this?" I asked pulling back to look up into his face and his eyes twinkled.

"I might have had something to do with it." He grinned widely, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"Hey! I helped too, thank you very much." I heard from behind me. I turned in Chad's arms and saw Tawni standing there in a pink flower patterned dress.

"Tawni! " I smiled forgetting anything I had felt against her or Chad.

"That's me!" She said enthusiastically as I hugged her.

"Lucy and your mom helped too, obviously." Chad pointed out, still grinning at me.

"I can't believe you guys," I sighed exasperated. "When nobody called or texted me or anything, I had no idea what to think."

"I would have been a pretty bad boyfriend to forget your birthday." Chad laughed quietly. "But did I make up for it or what?" He asked me, and I took a look around.

My mom's house was crowded with so many familiar faces. Celebrities and old Wisconsin friends alike. There was a bar set up where a bartender was mixing drinks; non-alcoholic I'm sure, and the entire living room and dining room combined was turned into a full out dance floor where music had been cranked up and sending the vibrations through the floor. The whole house was decorated in silver and yellow balloons, streamers and confetti; the whole atmosphere making me feel loved.

"Maybe…" I said grudgingly.

"Only maybe? Geez, tough crowd." Chad tisked.

"I'll change it to a yes if you come dance with me," I added slyly, taking Chad's hand and pulling him behind me through the crowd to the dance floor.

I found a slightly open space in the middle of the living room and twisted around to look at Chad; he gave me a lopsided smile and put his hands on my waist as a song with a slower beat came on.

"Right on cue." He said giving me a lopsided grin.

"How in the world did you plan all this?" I said ignoring his ego and winding my arms around his neck.

"It was easy," He boasted. "You know, after your mom, Tawni and Lucy all jumped in." Then as an afterthought he added, "And David, and Sarah."

"them too?" I giggled.

"Had to get you out of the house somehow."

"You really are evil." I said shaking my head in mock disappointment.

"If that's the case then you are the nut job who dates evil guys." He shot back shrugging. I rolled my eyes, but I was truly enjoying the night.

I danced, laughed, indulged myself in all my favorite junk food, I even found the rest of my cast from So Random! buried in with the party crowd. Nico, Grady and Zora greeted me with happy birthdays and hugs, much like all my other friends there, and even though I was _so_ pleased to be surrounded by so many people who cared about me; I really wanted to spend time with Chad.

"Bye!" I shouted over my shoulder at another old high school friend as Chad and I walked away.

"You don't have to worry about rushing conversations." He said seriously. "I'm staying all week." He whispered in my ear.

"What!" I said spinning on my heel.

"Happy birthday?" He said cocking his head playfully.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I said smacking him lightly on the shoulder with the back of my hand.

"It really just slipped my mind," He insisted with a lopsided grin. "I also may have forgotten to mention that you have the week off." I stared at him blankly. "And that were staying here." I blinked once, twice…

"normally you would be in so much trouble." I hissed.

"But I'm not because I'm Chad Dyl-" I didn't let him finish and instead placed my hand firmly over his mouth.

"You're not because I don't want to spoil this party." I said smirking maliciously.

"Now you're just scaring me." Chad said plainly.

"But you're Chad Dylan Cooper," I said in a stuck-up tone.

"Hey, I wanted to come for the week, and when I was planning it with your mom she insisted we stay here." He explained. "So, I hope you have a nice guest room." He finished arrogantly.

"Oh yes, we have a Chad Dylan Cooper worthy guest room." I rolled my eyes.

Even though I was playing it down, I was actually bursting with excitement for the week to come. I knew as soon as I had seen Chad at the bottom of the steps that Sarah had been absolutely right, and that it was silly there had ever been a doubt in my mind against Chad or Tawni. Look how much they did to show me they loved me...

**Alright, so everything seems to be back on track, yay! lol**

Cheers!

RedHeaded4Always


	16. Chapter 15 A blonde brunette and redhead

**AN: Alright, this is the last of the backups, after this, I'm going to have to finish the chapter I started, and try to go from there...but I'm not sure how long that's going to take so you're all goingto have to bare with me... Sorry!**

Chad's POV

Yeah, its 3 AM. Yeah. I'm still awake. No, I'm not with Sonny. That's the thing about staying with Sonny AND her mom. I'm in the guest room. On the opposite floor. Just thinking out loud here.

The party ended hours ago. But Sonny and I had only just managed to scoot the last of the straggling guests out of her house. Who would have known her high school friends would be so clingy about being at a party with celebrities?

Anyways, now I was laying on the bed in the guest room, which happens to be right below Sonny's room upstairs. How do I know this? Well, the response to that one also happens to be the answer to the question; why am I not asleep yet? And the answer to both questions, is that girls have no capability of whispering. And there's three upstairs. A blonde. A brunette. And a red head. Sounds like the beginning of one of those jokes right? Well it's not, it's Tawni, Sonny, and Lucy upstairs giggling about who knows what.

But I can't get up enough energy to actually complain. And why would I anyways? Sonny's happy, with her friends, and as far as I could tell pleased with her birthday surprise. It wasn't exactly the easiest gift to pull off either.

Planning flights to Wisconsin, where everyone would stay, how to get Sonny to show up, how to keep her from finding out about the whole scheme. It's a bit of work. And then there's the whole media thing. If they got one glimpse of anything party related, they would be all over it and the whole surprise would have been spoiled.

I roll onto my other side, and try to sleep, letting my eyes close and breathing even out. But I'm suddenly jolted back awake when I hear another giggle.

"Oh come on…" I groan to myself, but I'm really not that angry when it comes down to it. How could I?

I revert to pulling a pillow over my head to try and muffle any sound, letting myself relax and settle down. _Think about…Movie premieres, and signing autographs…_ I try to coax myself, that always used to work when I couldn't get to sleep. _Flashing cameras? Crowds chanting my name? _But the picture conjured up in my head changes. It's not a crowd. And there's no chanting. It's one person. One voice.

"Chad?" My eyes flicker open, and I'm surprised to peel the pillow off my head and see Sonny's amused face staring down at me. "You okay there?" She giggles.

"What?" I mumble, licking my lips and sitting up, my hair falling into my eyes.

"You look horrible." She laughs again.

"Thanks so much." I say sarcastically and run a hand through my hair to get it out of the way.

"Well, what would you want me to say? I could lie…" She says playfully and I raise my eyebrows.

"Isn't it too early to make fun of me?" I sigh, feeling my eyelids start to droop.

"Not really, it's ten in the morning…" She says smiling.

"What?" My eyes snap open and I peer to the di9gital alarm clock on the bedside table to double check, and she's right. "How it that…"

"Possible? Well, it's called a time difference, but I didn't think you'd have jet lag or anything, you've been here more than a day…" She pointed out, cocking her head to the side.

"It's all your fault." I groan flopping over to lay back on the bed. "You kept me up too late." I open my eyes to glare at her. "You and your _giggling." _I stress the word to make it sound evil.

"Giggling? OH! You heard us?" She laughed. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd be kept awake," She shrugged, but kept a fresh smile on her face. "So," She said after a moment. "You going to get up or what?"

"What." I answer.

"What?" She says puzzled.

"Yeah, what. You asked me if I was going to get up or what; and I choose what." I explain, but I pull myself up at the same time, all while she glares at me. "Can I take a shower?" I ask her, looking up groggily.

"Sure," She shrugs, and begins to leave the room. But she stops at the door. "Chad?"

"Mm?" I say climbing out of the guest bed.

" You're not funny." She says point blank.

"I am too!" I retort. "Ask anyone." I cross my arms over my chest.

"Tawni!" She shouts up the stairs. "Is Chad funny?"

"No way…" I hear her voice travel down the stairs.

"That's not fair." I say coming to stand in the open doorway. "I said ask anybody, not a nobody."

"Hey!" She growls from upstairs. Then I yell back up,

"Lucy! Do _you _think I'm funny?" I know I've got this one, she was constantly getting tongue tied whenever she tried to help plan Sonny's party. She just can't get over how awesome I am.

"Uh," I hear scuffling come from upstairs and feverish whispering.

"Tawni! Stop trying to torment her. Let's hear her true opinion." I say as sweetly as possible. I see Lucy's head peer out from the railing up a floor, and she's biting her lip.

"I…" She starts but she looks behind her and gulps before answering. "No…" She says slowly and I hear a whoop from Tawni.

"Come on! You can't threaten her!" I argue and Sonny puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Chad, you need to come to terms with this." She flashes the fakest smile she can muster. "Go take our shower…" She pats my shoulder and chuckles.

"You guys are ridiculous."I hiss before spinning around to retreat back into the guest room.

"Maybe, but we're also right!" Tawni pipes up.

"Sorry!" I hear Lucy squeak out, but I just growl and close the door.

"Liars." I mumble to myself and paw through my suitcase laying on the floor to get together my clothes for today. A pair of jeans, a random t-shirt. This is so unlike me, but I huff and frown at nothing in particular. "Stupid Randoms." I say aloud.

"I heard that!" I hear Sonny's voice singsong.

"You were supposed to!" I shout back in the same tone.

"You guys sound like three year olds!" Sonny's mom mimics us from the direction of the kitchen. This makes me smile, but I shake it off and head into the connected bathroom to get in the shower.

I rinsed off a fast as I could, and let myself chill out, realizing how much of a joke that fight had been. I let out a laugh at how ridiculous I must have sounded, guess I can be pretty temperamental…

I found myself dressed and out of the bathroom within the next ten minutes, and wandering down the hall to the kitchen where I saw Sonny's mom at the stove.

"Can I help with anything?" I offered, and she turned to smile at me.

"How sweet of you to ask, but no, I've got everything covered." She went back to fixing up the pan of scrambled eggs she was making and I settled with getting myself a cup of coffee and settling at the table.

"Good morning," Sonny's chipper voice spoke from the doorway. She walked over and hugged her mom before coming to sit next to me. "So…" I looked up at her and saw a smug grin plastered on her face.

"Sonny, don't pester him." Her mom said, though her back was still turned away.

"No, please pester him more," Tawni said coming to join us at the table with Lucy closely behind. "It's a…learning experience."

"Very funny." I said sarcastically and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Okay, okay," Sonny said putting her hands up between us in a defensive way. "Calm down, and please don't bite off each other's heads…" She pleaded.

"Alright," I said giving in. It wasn't even my fault though.

"Alright kiddos, help yourself." Connie said setting a hot plate of eggs, toast, and bacon down in front of each of us, then she let out a laugh. "Sorry, I guess you're not kiddos, here you go _guys_."

"Hey, I don't mind being a kiddo," I laugh, helping myself to a little of everything.

"Alright Chad, then you can be my kiddo. Now that my baby is all grown up…" She said pulling the fakest frown I've ever seen.

"Good, I'm tired of everyone treating me like an adult." I say matter of factly. "Just because I'm nineteen doesn't mean I should have to do everything by myself." Sonny snickers and shakes her head at me, and I simply smile. I miss witty banter.

Connie shakes her head at me and disappears from the room.

"Well, now that we've established that Chad wants to be four years old again," Tawni shoots me a look before continuing. "How about we figure out what we're going to do with Lucy and I's last day here."

Sonny looked thoughtful for a moment. "I need to go shopping."

"Oh thank god." Tawni breathes out relieved. "I thought we were never going to go to a store."

"Oh my gosh really? I get to go shopping in a rural mall with Tawni Hart, and Chad Dylan Cooper?" Lucy gushes.

"Hey! What am I?" Sonny laughs and Lucy quickly apologizes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything g by that! Of course you're super famous too, I don't know what I was-"

"Lucy!" Sonny shouts. "It's okay,"

"Wait, you mean we have to take him," Tawni whines pointing at me.

"Why wouldn't we take him?" Sonny asks, looking puzzled.

"Because he'll ruin everything," Tawni complains. "Because he's a boy."

"_He _is sitting right here," I wave at them, but they ignore me.

"So he can't shop? I've seen Chad clean out some stores before," Sonny says laughing. "He might even be able to out shop you."

"That's impossible," Tawni says waving the idea away and scoffing. "But we really do need to figure out something to do with him." She says glaring at me.

"Something to do with me?" I say confused.

"Yeah, girls shop way better without guys tagging along." Tawni smiles annoyingly at me.

"I think I saw an article about that in a magazine somewhere," Lucy says excitedly.

"Hold up," Sonny says stopping our conversation.

"Thank you!" I say relieved.

"I can ask David and Sarah to come. That way Chad and David can go off and us girls can shop all we want."

"Wait, what?" I say suddenly worried. Yeah, David and I were getting along, but leave me alone with him? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

"Don't worry, it's all figured out." Sonny says tapping away at her phone's keyboard. "David says he'd love to." I bet.

"Yay…" I say weakly.

"He says he wants to take you to the ammo store _and _the gun store…" She laughs reading off her phone.

"You have a gun store in your mall?" I swallow nervously.

"They split up the Guns and Ammo store? That's horrible!" Lucy gasps. Wisconsin people are so weird. (**AN no offence to Wisconsinonians, my cousins happen to live there, it's a great place )**

"And then he wants to take you out to the woods, and show you around…" Sonny continues. I suddenly get an image of her brother smiling devilishly and lifting up his gun…

"Chad!" Sonny says waving her hand in my face. "You know I'm just kidding right?" She says placing a kiss on my cheek. "At least about the woods. He might actually want to take you gun shopping," She glances at my face and hurriedly adds, "But don't worry, he likes you now."

"And even if he doesn't, at least Lucy, Sonny, Sarah and I can go shopping!" Tawni pipes up and high fives Lucy from across the table.

"I'm going to die," I groan and put my head down on the table.

"Chad, you're being ridiculous," Sonny says softly, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. I look up slowly as she smiles gently at me. "David wouldn't _kill_ you."

**AN: Haha, okay personally I thought this chapter was kind of funny, maybe you didn't, maybe you're from Wisconsin and I insulted you but hey, I appologized. Besides, there are way worse Wisconsin jokes, and mine wasn't even that funny. lol. So...I don't know when the next post will be up, I have to finish writing it and I don't have a lot of time for that anymore, but I'm going to try! I promise! Love you all, and please review, it will make my day :)**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	17. Chapter 16 Guns n' Roses

**Okay, so I'm on a roll again for now, I've got a couple more chapters written up, and even though they aren't as long as my usual, they'll have to do until I get more time to write, sorry for the lameness! :/ Anyways, this chapter is written from SOnn'y brother's point of view because I have gotten a couple requests to do so, so here you go! lol**

David's POV

"Hey!" I called out, waving as my little sister and her, what looked like an entourage, friends walked over. Well, _most _of them were friends.

"Remember what we talked about, be nice." My fiancé whispered into my ear before the group came into earshot.

"What? Come on…" I said, but she just glared at me and hissed again.

"_Be nice._"

"Fine," I groaned rolling my eyes. But sense when do _I_ keep promises?

"Hey!" Sonny said jogging the last couple of steps to give me a hug.

"How was your party?" I laughed hugging her back.

"Great!" She smiled, and then as an afterthought she frowned a punched me in the shoulder.

"Hey!" I complained, rubbing my arm while her pretty boy boyfriend covered up a laugh. "What was that for?" I shot Chad a glare and he composed himself.

"That's for not telling me!" Sonny hissed, and then she turned to give Sarah a hug.

"You're welcome for dragging your mom and David out of the house last night. That was your birthday present from me." She told Sonny smiling. "They, well mostly your brother, wanted to stay and supervise. But I convinced them to let you guys party it out as adults."

"Thank you!" Sonny laughed brightly. "Oh! And this is Tawni, I'm pretty sure I've told you about her."

"Ah yes, Tawni…" Sarah commented slowly, and she gave Sonny a weird look before Sonny nodded her head reassuringly and then Sarah turned on the charm.

"I've heard all about all your escapades with Sonny on So Random!" She moved to give the surprised blonde a hug.

"Oh, that's great…" Tawni said, and I laughed at her expression. I'm pretty sure she wasn't used to hugging strangers, even if she was a star.

"And Chad! It's good to see you again," She grinned passing hugs around to him and Lucy.

"Alright, now that you've all been smothered, how about we go inside?" I suggested. Clapping my hands and rubbing them together. Sarah stuck her tongue out at me and I saw Tawni roll her eyes. "What? Are you embarrassed by us?" I chuckled at the blonde girl.

"No, I'm embarrassed _for_ you." She sneered sweetly. Yikes, scary blonde.

"Okay, let's all play nice," Sonny laughs and moves to push me towards the entrance to the mall, leaning all her weight against me from behind.

"Fine, fine, I'm going!" I say slowly making my way to the sliding glass doors. "What are we even looking for?"

"_We_ are looking for clothes and whatever else we might want." Sonny says gesturing to the other girls. "_You_ two are looking for…whatever guys shop for…" She said motioning at Chad and myself.

"Wait, you were serious about me and him shopping?" I ask surprised.

"Of course I was serious," She sighs exasperated. Well, crap. She walks over to the tall blonde boy and wraps her arms around him before giving him a quick peck. "Love you," She smiled up and then added a quiet "You'll be fine…"

"Yeah Chaddy boy. You'll be fine," I grin menacingly, and I see him swallow slowly. Man, I totally scare the shit out of this kid. "See you girls around!" I wave them off and then turn back to the movie star.

"So, gun store?" I ask, hitching a thumb behind me pointing in the direction of the arms store.

"There's really a gun store in a public mall…" Chad says in disbelief.

"Well, yeah. I mean this is Wisconsin, not LA. We don't constantly shoot people on the streets." I laugh to myself. "You have to give us some credit."

"but you can just lay guns out there for anyone to shoot and sell them to whoever you want?" He asks wild eyed.

"No, there are rules." I say in a _duh_ tone. "But let's go. We're wasting time." I pivot on my heel and head off down the wide hallway to Gus's Guns. I know real original, but hey, I didn't name it. I hear quick footsteps h=behind me and soon Chad is in step next to me.

"So then, you're going to buy a gun."

"No," I say looking at him like he's crazy. "I'm going to shoot one." Chad blinks twice with a blank expression evident. I roll my eyes and walk through the doors to the salon style store lined with racks of guns locked up tight. Chad was staring at it all with wide eyes. Seriously, I'm surprised they didn't pop out of his sockets like big blue gumballs.

"You have got to be kidding me." I say, stopping dead in my tracks. "You've never shot a gun before have you?"

"What? No, of course not! Why would I?" He asked confused.

"Come on, it's like a rite of passage." I stress, but still not getting any reaction. "Wow, this is great." I shake my head. "Just, come on." I grabbed his shoulders and shoved him towards the rugged beared guy working the counter. The guy looked up from his magazine and blinked expectantly.

"Hi, can we get a couple target rifles and rounds?" I asked him and he nodded briefly before disappearing into the storage closet.

"You're buying guns, just like that?" Chad asked incredulously.

"Relax, their just beebees."

"I'm going to need a credit card." The cashier said coming back. I handed one over, and then the guy turned to Chad. "And you?"

"What?" His eyebrows raised.

"A credit card. I need one." He said impatiently.

"I'm not just going to hand over a credit card because some guy wants it." He said crossing his arms over his t-shirt.

"It's just a security. So he knows you won't walk off with a gun." I whispered under my breath.

"Oh, fine then." He said uncrossing his arms and pulling out a leather wallet before rummaging around for a card. "Here" He said annoyed and I smiled.

"You've got range one." The counter guy said going back to his magazine.

"Thanks." I said and grabbed my gun and a box of ammo the guy had put out for us and Chad began to follow me. "What are you doing?" I asked turning to him.

"Coming with you?" He said hesitantly.

"Where's your gun. Come on, use your head!" Chad narrowed his eyes at me and turned on his heel, only to join me a minute later at the target range.

"So…" He said, looking puzzled at the area around him.

"Glasses." I said pointing to the wall of safety goggles behind us.

"Oh, right." He took a pair off the wall and put them on coming to stand next to me again.

"Now, you've got to hold it like this," I said gripping the weapon in my hands and resting the butt against my arm. "Aim it like so…." I eyed the red and white target across the booth I was shooting from. "And pull the trigger." There was a click and then a bang as the gun fired and put a hole through the edge of the innermost circle of the target. "Get it?" I asked turning to look at the pretty boy blonde my sister seemed so infatuated with.

"Uh, sure…" He shrugged like it was no big deal. This was going to be good.

"Then go ahead." I said sweeping my arm out and gesturing him forward.

"Right," He muttered to himself. He took his place with a hilarious look of determination on his face. He hunched over the gun, took a deep breath and fired. There was a click, a bang, and then a grunt.

"Shit," He gasped out, abandoning the gun on the firing counter. Meanwhile, I did my job as his girlfriend's older brother; I laughed.

"Priceless!" I gasped out as he held his stomach and tried to breathe deeply.

"It's not funny!" He insisted looking annoyed and shooting me a glare.  
"Seriously, it is. You _did not_ see that kick coming." I laughed, referring to the gun fighting back and punching him in the stomach after he shot it.

"Well how was I supposed to know that was going to happen? It didn't happen to you!" He complained rubbing his abdomen; it was probably going to leave a decent sized bruise.

"It did though, I just _held it still_." I hissed back smiling. "But, nice shot. You made the wall of misses." I pointed at the wall surrounding the target, which was peppered with holes from other missed shots.

"This is ridiculous." He said stepping away. "I give up." He said holding up his hands and backing away.

"You can't just give up. Just because things got tough…" I laugh.

"Is that what this is about? One of those awkward man enough tests?" He asked turning back to look at me.

"Maybe it was, to see if you can handle a relationship. And maybe I just wanted to see you get kicked in the gut without being pressed charges for assault." I retorted.

"Fine. I'll stay then," He sighed coming back to the stand. "But just so you know, this is nothing like a relationship."He glared at me, and then looked surprised when I laughed.

"You'd be surprised." I said before picking my gun up and taking aim again.

"Wait, what?" Chad asked looking worried.

"Let's just start with dealing with the guns. You can learn about how to handle yourself when Sonny kicks back later." I chuckled.

"So the gun is easier then?" He asked slowly, watching how I poised myself, probably taking notes in his head like the pretty boy he was.

"Oh yeah," I laughed shaking my head. "Much."

**lol. Chad and David's relationship is about as bipolar as Washington weather. And that about sums it up. :) Hope you liked it, let me know in a review pretty please lol **

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	18. Chapter 17 Messing Around

**Alright, so it's another not so big chapter, but the one I just wrote is about 4,000 words long so that's something to look forward to right? lol. Oh! Um, shoutout to mrpuppy who absolutely made my day by reviewing for every single chapter of this story :) hint hint (lol I'm just kidding you don't all have to go and review for every chap., I mean, unless you want to...) Anyways, hope you like this chapter, its a bit of affection because I've been getting reviews saying that people would appreciate some more, hope this is what you wanted! lol**

Sonny's POV

"So, he really didn't tell you that they kick back? That's so like him…" I laughed unlocking the front door to my childhood home and letting Chad and myself inside. We had just gotten back to my mom's house after dropping Lucy and Tawni off at the airport on our way home from the mall.

"Well you could have warned me!" He insisted again his frown deepening as we crossed the threshold.

"I did! I told you he wouldn't _kill _you, I didn't say anything about him not trying to get yourself beat up." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Okay you two come on, I feel like a babysitter! Aren't you supposed to be all lovey-dovey?" My mom said coming into the hall where we were standing.

"Sorry," We both mumbled.

"Uhuh. I hope you can manage to not kill each other while I'm gone." She said sternly reaching for her black coat on the hanger by the door.

"Where are you going?" I suddenly asked confused.

"I told you this morning," She sighed again but smiled. "I'm going out with my friend Bethany; she's taking me to her gallery showing. I'll be back…well late I guess. But I ordered a pizza, the money is on the counter, and it should be here in twenty minutes." She reached forward and pulled me into a hug. "Love you." Then she opened the door and stepped out while shouting over her shoulder, "Remember! No killing each other!"

"_You_ know that I don't want to kill you right?" I said turning around to face Chad. "I mean, it might _seem_ that way sometimes, but I think I'd be pretty upset if I killed you." He smiled.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better…" He said sarcastically, but his eyes twinkled.

"What was that?" I said sternly.

"What was what?" Chad said surprised.

"That." I said narrowing my eyes. "It couldn't have been more obvious if a light bulb flashed over your head. You thought of something…" A devilish smile sprouted across his face. "And it's definitely not a good thing." I said, slowly taking a step back.

"Sonny…all my ideas are good." He said slowly. "At least, for me." He grinned, and I continued to walk backwards down the hall.

"Chad…" I said cautiously watching his eyebrows rise while he smiled. I took another step back and bumped into a flowerpot on the ground, which gave Chad the opportune moment for whatever he was planning. In the moment I was occupied stumbling backwards, Chad grabbed me around the waist and picked me up so that I was partly hanging over his shoulder. "Chad!" I shouted, pushing against him but he only chuckled to himself. He turned around, causing me to duck to avoid hitting my head.

"Chad! You're going to ram me into the wall…" I tried to negotiate myself down.

"I wouldn't do that…" He insisted laughing.

"Chad! Now!" He walked down the hallway and into the living room.

"What? Put you down? Alright, if you insist." He swung me over his shoulder and dropped me onto the couch.

"You are being ridiculous!" I glared at him. "You could have dropped me." He rolled his blue eyes and laid down across the length of the couch on his back, resting his legs across where I was sitting. "I'm not your foot rest thank you." I said trying to sound stern, but it ended up coming out with a laugh. "Please…" I whimpered. He looked up at my face, but then shrugged and laid back down.

"I'm good." Well that was it. I lifted my hands and tickled his sock covered feet.

"Hey!" He said twitching them away. I reached further and tickled them again.

"Stop!" He said letting out a pathetic laugh and partially sitting up, but I stopped him by slipping out from under his legs and crawling to sit straddling his hips. His face changed from smiling to an almost shocked expression, his blonde eyebrows rising high. I let my hand drop down to rest on his stomach, trailing my fingers across his shirt and not meeting his eyes. Then I looked over at him under my eyelashes and grinned maniacally before letting my finger trail to his sides and launching my second attack.

"No!" He gasped out laughing out of necessity rather than humor. "No, Sonny stop!" He tried to grab at my wrists but I twisted them out of reach, leaning forward and switching from tickling his sides to under his arms. "Please!" He said in a desperate voice trying to stop my hands but not being able to catch them while laughing so hard.

"You so deserve this." I smiled evilly catching his eye.

"Oh come on! I was joking around!" He panted out. "I wouldn't have actually dropped you! Give me a little credit!"

"Revenge is revenge, " I said shrugging, but his hand caught mine in the moment that I took my eyes away to argue with him, and instant he tugged me down and with a squeal I was suddenly looking at him with my face an inch away from his. "Alright," I whispered. "I'll stop." With my face so close to his it was hard to think at all, and the only thing I could think of at the moment were his lips. They were right there.

And then I found them over mine, with Chad's hands in my hair. He pulled me down so that I was just resting on top of him, my hands laying flat against his chest. One of his hands trailed down from my hair, resting on my neck and then moving to my waist, where his fingers drew patterns on the exposed skin near my hip, raising goose bumps in their wake. He pulled back, and breathed out my name.

"Sonny…"

"Shh," I said closing the space between us again, pressing myself into him and he responded eagerly, moving the hand left in my hair to my neck so that he could clutch my face closer to his. It was moments like this that I treasured, the two of us being so close, just breathing each other in between our gasps for breath. I felt his mouth move against my own, opening slightly, and he traced my bottom lip with his tongue lightly, and I knew what he was asking. But I had a different idea.

Instead of opening my mouth and letting him in, I moved my lips and sucked his lower lip in-between my teeth, gently biting down. A moan escaped his lips and I smiled into our kiss, releasing his lip and giving his tongue entrance into my mouth. I felt my heart beating faster and faster, and Chad's fingers danced across the tender skin at my waist, rolling the hem of my shirt between them and lifting it higher and higher, exposing the skin on my back as it traveled up, and out of need I hitched my leg up against Chad's hip, and tugged at his shirt collar with my free hand. Wanting it off _so _badly, even though this could go somewhere that made me nervous to think about. I pulled back slightly, breathing deeply and heard Chad panting underneath me before he brought his lips to the seam of my head and neck and kissed his way down my throat to my collar bone. I sighed against him, trembling slightly at the adrenaline pumping through my blood. Chad grabbed the sleeve of my white t-shirt and pulled it part way down my arm, trailing his lips to my shoulder blade and then nipping the skin, earning a gasp from my mouth before he placed a kiss back over the tender spot.

"Chad, please…" I moaned resting my head in the crook of his neck while he worked at my collar bone. I made my hands into fists, clutching at the fabric of his t-shirt and pulling at it. "Please…" I whispered into his ear. "Take it off…" He groaned and crushed his lips back onto mine hastily. He moved his hands from playing with the hem of my shirt to start lifting his own up, and I felt my hands move to lay flush against the skin of his abdomen while the shirt moved up until a bang came from the door.

I jumped up gasping and shivering and Chad laid there looking confused until it came again. A knocking at the door.

"Oh my god," Chad groaned, sitting up straightening his shirt out while running a hand quicly through his hair. He stood and began walking to the door but when I began to follow he turned around and stopped me. "You might want to stay there," He grinned slyly, and I stood there with a look of confusion. "Just, wait okay?" Then he ran into the kitchen and came back out with a wad of bills and a couple paper plates to answer the door with.

Damn, it's the pizza guy.

"Thanks a lot mom." I sighed as Chad and the pizza guy exchanged cash for food. He then came into the room and set everything down on the coffee table before settling back on the couch to sit next to me. He stared at me for a few moments, and I stared at him confused before he spoke up.

"So, the sex hair…it looks good on you." He grinned.

"What?" I said jumping up and walking over to the decorative mirror on the wall checking my reflection. "Oh my god, you're right." And he was, my hair was an absolute mess, and if I had been the one to answer the door, I'm pretty sure the pizza guy would have been able to guess what had been happening, or what might have been going to happen. I smoothed my hair out the best I could and then fixed my shirt, which had been riding up my body.

"Thanks a lot." I complained sitting back down next to Chad on the couch.

"What? So it's my fault?" He asked faking a hurt expression before cracking a smile. "Yeah, I guess it was. Although," He pulled me close and moved the sleeve of my shirt back down, exposing the new red mark on my skin. "This; is a beautiful piece of work." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, except now there is no way I can where a tank top without everyone seeing your little 'masterpiece'." He chuckled and nuzzled my neck.

"Then I'm sorry for myself. No low cut tank tops is going to be difficult for me." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my so that I was cuddled up against him on the couch.

"Hey, I didn't say anything about low cut…" I laughed.

"But, I'm the one who broke into your apartment and stole all the clothes to bring here. I specifically brought all of the lowest cut tops and all the shortest shorts I could find." He grinned mischievously at me.

"You are unbelievable," I said shaking my head.

"But you love me anyways." He said leaning forward to place a soft kiss to my lips. "Now let's find a movie." He grabbed the TV remote and searched through Netflix until he found some action packed car racing movie.

"Really? This one again?" I sighed looking up at him.

"Come on! It's a classic!" He complained, but I held out my hand and he handed over the remote anyways. I scrolled down the list until I found Tangled and pressed play. "So I can't watch cars but you get to watch a princess movie?"

"Well life sucks," I shrugged laughing and taking a piece of pizza from the box to put on my plate.

"Hmm, not _so_ much." He smiled and pulled me close to kiss the top of my head. "Not so much at all."

**Well? What didja think...? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to spit in it's face? Or my face? (actaully ew, that's SO not okay...) But I'd still like to know! SO, leave a review? Para mi? Por favor? Eh, well we'll see, haha. **

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	19. Chapter 18 The Square

**AN: Hello all my lovely readers :) Here's another fairly lengthy chapter, not super important to the story, but it's got a bit of fluff and such, and that's always good! haha :) Anyways Just wanted to let you all know that I've been posting for another SWAC story called Don't Ever Forget, it's kind of a sad story, but I'd love it if you went and read it!**

Sonny's POV

"So you had a civil night than? No blood, no name calling?" My mom asked. It was 8:30 in the morning and I had just come downstairs and was making myself a bowl of cereal.

"No mom, well, at least there wasn't any blood…" I laughed grabbing the box of frosted mini wheat's.

"Sometimes I wonder if you two are actually dating or if it's just for the press and in reality you still can't stand each other." She said in a scolding tone smiling at me over the newspaper she was reading at the table.

"Oh, it's defiantly just for publicity." Came Chad's voice from the doorway. He walked into the kitchen and came to look over my shoulder. "Looks good." He said motioning to my cereal.

"Uh, thanks?" I said suspiciously, and accepted the kiss he gave me on the cheek as a good-morning.

"No, thank you." He said pulling away and snatching the bowl from the counter.

"Hey! Get your own!" I protested as he walked away and sat at the breakfast table across from my mom.

"But it tastes so much better when someone else makes it…" He whined pouting his lip and giving off puppy-dog eyes.

"Nice try, but I'm immune." I smirked walking to the table and sitting beside him before sliding the bowl in front of me.

"Fine, I'll do it myself…" He grumbled scooting out his chair and stalking back over to the counter.

"This is what I mean…" My mom said rolling her eyes and going back to reading the results from the county fair contests.

"It's just playful banter…" I reassured her laughing, but Chad turned around and shot me a glare. "Well, sometimes." I added smiling.

"Okay, but don't come crying to me when one of you get's your feelings hurt…" She warned chuckling. "Now, what are you two doing today?"

"I think we talked about going on a picnic, at the Square." I explained chewing thoughtfully. The Square was the biggest neighborhood park that I've ever seen. It's a playground, skate park, stable, dogpark, hiking trail, and baseball diamond all rolled into one, spread out across acres of land with a huge fountain in the center. I basically lived there when I was little.

"That will be fun." She commented not really into the conversation anymore, and probably just focusing on her daily news dosage.

"And then we're going to get married." I said nonchalantly, making Chad's head snap up in confusion and look my way surprised. I raised my finger to my lips signaling him to be quiet and just go with it.

"Oh, good…" She said absent mindedly. Chad stifled a laugh and came to sit next to me at the table with his own breakfast.

"Yeah, it's because we're going to have a baby." I said taking another bite and watching my mom's expression. Her eyes darted across the page scanning the articles obviously engrossed in whatever she as reading.

"Uhuh," She said turning the page.

"Triplets actually. We've been meaning to tell you, but we kept forgetting. You know, that kind of thing just slips the mind.." Chad added holding back a laugh and smirking.

"And we're naming them all after Donald Duck's nephews." I said cheerfully.

"That's nice honey." She sighed.

"But, Chad's not the dad." I said changing my focus to look at his face instead.

"What? Of course I am." He protested.

"No, you're not. It's…" I searched my mind looking for a name that might tick him off. "Zac Efron."

"No!" He said gasping. "There is no way that could have happened. If he's the dad, then you aren't the mom." He said crossing his arms over his chest grumpily.

"That doesn't even make sense Chad. Face it, Huey, Dewy and Louise are Zac's kids." I shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Then I'm not supporting them." He said sternly glaring at me and narrowing his blue eyes.

"Doesn't matter, I already cleaned out your bank account." I said waving the matter off.

"That is so inconsiderate…" He said dramatically.

"Hold up," My mom said snapping her head up suddenly. She looked from me to Chad and back again. "What is this about?"

"Sonny is having Zac Efron's triplet Donald Duck nephew tributes without telling me, and she stole all of my money." Chad said glaring at me. "Can you believe her?" He asked incredulously and then stood up. "I just can't understand the nerve of some people." He cleared his pace and then stalked out of the room and down the hall. My mom stared at me blinking with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Don't worry mom, it's not that big of a deal." I smiled and then followed him.

"You better be kidding, otherwise we are going to have a serious conversation later missy!" She called after me.

"Uhuh, gotta go now mom!" I called back and then let myself out of the house. I shivered a minute, the early morning shade bringing goose bumps to the skin on my legs and arms where my whitewashed shorts and yellow v-neck didn't cover it up.

"She might be having a serious conversation with you later, but I think we need to have one now." Chad said from down the front walk where he was standing. I couldn't see his face because the sun was glaring behind him as it rose in the sky, and all I could make out was a green t-shirted kaki short wearing blob. I held my hand over my eyes to see better.

"Hey, if I said sorry, would it be better?" I asked walking towards him.

"Maybe, but if you just took it all back that'd be good too." He laughed holding out his hand to me.

"Alright, I take it back…" I sighed smiling up at him.

"Ah, so much better." He laughed. "So, where are we off to?" He asked walking hand in hand with me down the driveway.

"To the Square. It's not that far of a walk, and then once we get there we can do whatever we feel like." I said pointing down the street in the general direction of the park with my free hand.

"So what are we going to do then?" He asked smiling.

"Whatever we feel like," I said mysteriously, because honestly, I hadn't thought that far yet.

"Huh, alright then," Chad said looking at me suspiciously, almost as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. Creepy…

"So, you never did tell me exactly why you were up so late with Tawni and Lucy the other night," He spoke again after a couple moments of walking silently.

"Oh, well we were, you know, chatting…" I said vaguely.

"That was really, really indescriptive." He replied laughing softly.

"Well, I don't think you'd be particularly interested in what we were talking about, it was…girly." I said shrugging.

"So what? You were gossiping? I don't mind gossip." He answered smirking, there was no way to avoid anything that Chad became interested in.

"No, not really gossip. I mean sure, we looked at magazines and stuff but, we weren't really-" I babbled on until he cut me off.

"Okay, what is it that you're trying to avoid talking about?" He said eyeing me closely, and I blushed.

"It's nothing. We just…we talked. And, then we were joking around and started making up a song, and it was just because we were so hyper and couldn't fall asleep." I rambled and he narrowed his eyes.

"The only reason you'd be embarrassed about a song is if it was good." He said after a pause. "If it was bad you would laugh about it. But when you write a good song you get all self conscious and nervous…"

"I do not!" I protested dropping his hand and stopping in my tracks. He turned around to face me with a knowing look.

"Sonny, you know you do."

"No I don't!" I insisted again crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. No way.

"Fine, then sing a line." He said smirking and tilting his head to the side. I blinked, unsure of whether or not I should give in or fight him against this notation, but it seemed like he would just continue to pester me about it if I didn't.

"Give me a minute then." I said narrowing my eyes. I cleared my throat and uncrossed my arms standing straight and tapping out a rhythm on my thigh with my finger tips. "Saw you lookin' over, now I see you moving this way. You're pushing through the crowd, Like you got something to say, but you couldn't walk 'cause the music's taking over your feet. I can tell by your toes that you're rocking, to this beat…" I dropped off the song there and looked up at Chad. He was watching my face and his smirk was doubled.

"Told you." He said smugly.

"Shut up," I said sheepishly looking down to the sidewalk.

"Hey," He said coming closer and taking my hand in his. "Why are you so glum? It's another fantastic song that you're going to put on your album and all you're fans are going to eat it up." He laughed lightly. I looked up uncertainly and he rolled his eyes at my expression. "Come on! How could you _not believe_ in yourself?Look how far you've come!" He said pulling me close and wrapping his arms completely around me. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed.

"But, I can't help it. Nothing ever seems good enough." I said softly.

"You're good enough. Believe me. And, you're always getting better." He said squeezing me reassuringly. And this is why I missed having him around.

"Thank you." I said pulling away and smiling up at him.

"Of course." He winked at me, and pulled me along the walkway into the Square's entrance that we had been only a few yards away from. "Now come on, I want to hear the rest of that song."

"What?" I asked confused. We were standing on the dirt track that led around the park and Chad was scanning all the people around us.

"Yes! Over there." He pointed at a teenage boy younger than we were sitting on a park bench strumming his guitar not too far away from where we were standing.

"What are we doing?" I asked dragging my feet, but it seemed that Chad had decided to ignore me for the time being. Instead, when we got to the boy and let go of my hand and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.

"Hey, could you do me a favor?" He asked walking towards the boy. He had light brown hair and what looked like green eyes.

"Maybe," The boy answered cautiously, stopping his strumming and looking up at Chad. "Depends on what it is."

"Well, I was hoping I could but that guitar off of you…" Chad said casually and the boy looked taken aback.

"What? Why?"

"Well, I have a really urgent need for it. And, I can pay you well…" He said taken a wad of twenties out of his leather wallet and offering them out with a signature grin. The younger boy's eyes bulged. He looked down at the guitar and back at the money and answered quickly.

"Done." He handed over the old guitar and exchanged it for the money before walking off counting it out. "Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, a hundred…"

"How much did you give him?" I asked watching the little brunette run off.

"No idea. But he got the better part of the deal." Chad laughed holding out the beat up instrument to me.

"Seriously? All this trouble?" I asked skeptically.

"Seriously." Chad answered nodding his head. "Now on with the show!"

"I'm not sure any of the producers will be a fan of an impromptu performance…" I tried to argue but Chad waved it off.

"It's publicity. It's all good." There was no way he was going to let me out of this. Great.

I plucked at the strings tuning the guitar to my liking and then started a steady rhythm and started the song over. **  
**  
"Saw you lookin' over  
Now I see you moving this way  
You're pushing through the crowd  
Like you got something to say  
But you couldn't walk  
'cause the music's taking over your feet  
I can tell by your toes that you're rocking  
To this beat."

Chad was nodding and smiling and I tried to focus on his face instead of the heads that were starting to turn from all the _normal_ people at the Square.

"You gotta dance 'til you ache  
'til you drop, 'til you break  
Free your soul  
Let me see you shake  
One by one  
We're stealing the stage  
Here we come so get  
Out of our way."

People were starting stand around and watch and I felt my heart quicken it's beating in my chest, but I just opened my mouth and belted out the chorus instead of giving in to the massive heart attack I felt about ready to have.

"It won't be long  
Till the summers gone  
Get your party on  
So sing along  
Hold on tight  
It's a crazy night  
Get your party on  
So were screaming  
Out loud."

_Take a deep breath…_I thought to myself.

"I know you're type

And all the hype  
Is going straight  
To your head  
'cause your face is turning red, yeah  
But your learn  
How to move  
To the grove  
Give in or get out  
Put your hands in the air  
Stand up in your chair

And shout!

You're all dolled up  
With nowhere to go  
You want to get out  
And put on a show  
There's nothing wrong with staying home  
As long as you've got your  
Your radio."

People were seriously just standing there gapping or snapping pictures and Chad looked about ready for the smug little smile to fall off his face, it was all that I could do to not stick my tongue out at him.

"It won't be long  
Till the summers gone  
Get you party on  
So sing along  
Hold on tight  
It's a crazy night  
Get your party on  
So scream it  
Don't wait  
Don't you be late  
Get your party on  
So sing along  
Hold on tight  
It's a crazy night  
Get your party on  
So we're screaming  
Out loud

Come on!

The little things that you do  
From across the room  
I see you sending me clues  
There in the way  
You make me move

It won't be long  
Till the summers gone  
Get you party on  
So sing along  
Hold on tight  
It's a crazy night  
Get your party on  
So we're screaming  
Don't wait  
Don't you be late  
Get your party on  
So sing along  
Hold on tight  
It's a crazy night  
Get your party on  
And scream it  
Out loud

Get your party on  
Get your, get your party on  
Get your party on  
Get your, get your  
Party on!"

Phew. And that's when the applause and wolf whistles erupted. I smiled sweetly and took a exaggerated bow for all of the park-goers and waved at the cameras. Chad came to stand next to me and gave me a quick peck on the cheek causing most of the crowd to awe at the affection.

"So was I right or was I right?" Chad asked smirking as we walked away from the crowd.

"I'm not even going to answer that." I said shaking my head.

"Because I was right."

"No, because you're ridiculous." I answered laughing.

"Well, you're song was great anyways. So, I _was_ right." He said sternly, and ignoring my name calling.

"Okay, okay. Think whatever you want." I said playfully punching him in the arm. "But now that you've completely embarrassed me in a public setting, what do you feel like doing?" Chad looked around thoughtfully, eyeing all the different activities other people were doing. There were picnics, skateboarders, and even a couple people starting off on a horseback ride. But his answer surprised me.

"Watching the clouds." He said simply, not looking at me but rather up a bit, his eyes now focused on the blue of the sky. I wondered if it was the same shade as his eyes. "Come on," He said giving my arm a tug and pulling me in the direction of the meadow located in front of us. The sun was shining down onto the grass and when the two of us sat down it tickled my bare legs warmly.

"Really? Cloud watching?" I said, the words sounding wrong on my tongue because to be honest, this wasn't something I really ever did.

"Yeah, why not? You've never just laid back and looked up?" He said looking my way, his short bangs flying to the side.

"I guess not…" I said slowly.

"Well, now you can start." He said pulling me to his side and then tipping the both of us backwards so that I was resting on my back with my head against his shoulder looking up into the blue and white patched sky. The two of us just laid there silently, content with simply each other's presence and the warm sunshine.

"So…my mom and dad want me to-" Chad stopped speaking abruptly when I at the mention of the word dad I involuntarily felt all my limbs tense up and I grimaced. "What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing," I still hadn't told him anything about the dad drama I had had lately.

"Sonny…" He said firmly. "Come on."

"I went and saw my dad." I said quietly, not looking in his direction. "And it didn't go so well. I didn't mean to react like that, that was completely unreasonable because we weren't even talking about my own dad but-"

"Sonny, shh." He said hushing me and pulling me closer to his side. "We can talk about what I was going to say later. Now, spill the whole story."

"I, well I called him again, and he said he wanted to see us, David and I, so we made plans to go and meet at this coffee shop. Anyways, when David and I got there we talked, and then he started talking about his _other_ kids, and, and…" I was out of breath from the entire conversation rushing out of my mouth at once.

"Hey, it's okay." He said softly.

"I didn't know how to feel. I still don't." I confessed pressing myself closer to him.

"You can always tell me this stuff," Chad said calmly while I let myself mellow out.

"I know, but I haven't really told anyone about how I feel about all this at all. I mean, you were there when he first tried to call me. And Sarah knows because of David. But I just… try to keep it as far away from my thoughts as possible."

"That might seem like it's going to work for a little while, but not forever." He said seriously, and when I looked up and met his eyes I noticed that his forehead was creased with worry.

"I know." I said quietly and letting my hand play with the grass, plucking blades out and abandoning them. The two of us laid there in more silence, not quite uncomfortable, but more serious than it had before. I felt bad, like it was my fault for bringing down the mood with my stupid sob story about how messed up my relationship with my dad is. So I let my mind race searching for something to say to brighten the atmosphere. "So, that cloud looks like your ego." I pointed up to the sky.

"Excuse me?" He said shocked.

"Yeah, that one right there." I pointed again and his gaze followed my fingers.

"That's not true. First off, egos don't look like anything…" He protested in a defensive tone making me laugh.

"That's a lie, because that cloud is exactly what yours looks like." I insisted smiling.

"How can you eve say that?" He said confused.

"Because, it's the biggest cloud up there, you know, fat, puffy and all that. Plus, it kind of looks like a donkey." I explained training my eyes on the cloud taking up the most space directly above us.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You know, a donkey. If you turn your head this way," I cocked my head to the side and Chad copied my movements staring up at the sky. "And, donkeys are also known as wild asses."

"Oh, real mature Sonny." Chad said rolling his eyes, I couldn't see the motion, but I could most certainly hear it in his voice.

"You _are _an ass." I paused for dramatic effect. "Or _were_ sometimes anyways."

"That's a stupid excuse Sonny. I know that you only made that connection because you were just laying here thinking about my ass." I turned my head to look at him and he gave me a signature smirk.

"No way." I scoffed.

"Really Sonny? Really?" He said lowering his voice to a husky tone.

"Yes, really…" I said narrowing my eyes. Chad did the same and rolled over so that his was laying on his stomach and his face was an inch from mine.

"Because I think that you think about it all the time…" He said slowly, leaning closer and closer until all I could see were his eyes looking directly into my own. I felt my breathing hitch, and I couldn't keep my head clear enough to compose a good comeback, and instead resorted to staying completely silent. "That's what I thought."

I felt myself blush right before he closed the gap between us connecting our lips in a deep kiss. One of his hands traveled to my hair and I could feel him twirling it around his fingers as my hands wandered to find a hold around his neck. He pulled back too soon for my liking, and before he could even catch a proper breath I pulled him back down to continue our kiss. I felt him his lips smiling against mine and I basked in the warmth emanating from both the sun and my boyfriend above me.

"I told you." He said breaking away and breathing deeply. He pushed himself up so that he was standing before offering a hand down to help me up. I took it and was yanked upward and caught firmly in his hold with his arms encircling my waist and keeping me close. "But it's okay, because I think about yours all the time too." He whispered in my ear.

And back to the blushing.

**AN: Awww. Admit it, it was kind of a cute chapter right? No? Ouch...lol. I thought this chapter was kind of funny actually, but I want to know what you think :) It would cheer me up to come home from a long day of finals and find like...a kajillion reviews? Maybe a few less than that but not by to many...Love you all :)**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	20. Chapter 19 GoodBye

**AN: So , this chapter is a little different I guess. Lol, you'll really just have to read it to find out. You'll see what I mean...**

Chad's POV

"Do you really have to go?" Sonny whispered from where she was laying on my chest. We were laying at the end of the bed in the guest room where I had been staying al week. The two of us were supposed to be packing, but that didn't last long. Maybe it's ADHD, but most likely it's the fact that a plane will be taking off from the airport tonight, and I was scheduled to be on that plane.

"Yeah, I do." I said softly, stroking the brown locks of hair that were splayed out behind her head and across my shoulder. "I don't want to, but a week was all I could get from the studio for vacation." I could see the obvious pout on her lips and I frowned.

"But, you're Chad Dylan Cooper. I thought you could get anything you want." She said crossly. "Couldn't you just threaten to quit?"

"Well, I could, but if I stress out the producers at the studio any more than they already are, I think they'll just tell me to go ahead and leave."

"At least then you could come back and stay here." She said snuggling deeper into the crook of my arm. Her tone of voice let me know that she was joking, albeit still unhappy with the idea of my leaving.

"I'll be back for the wedding. I already promised you that. And at the rate your mom and Sarah started planning it after she and David told her the other day; I have a feeling it's going to be coming up sooner than anyone is expecting." I grinned and felt her body vibrate with a chuckle.

"You're right. It's definitely going to be done and over with before summer ends." She sighed into my shoulder.

"Plus, I wouldn't miss a chance to see you perform. I'm glad your brother and Sarah asked you to." I grinned at her but my face slackened when I saw that she didn't look very happy about it. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, well no. I just, I don't think singing at their wedding will be a good idea." She said slowly.

"What? Why not?" I was surprised. "This isn't you being self conscious about your music again is it?"

She glared at me and I was taken aback.

"What does it matter?" She snapped and looked away.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help." I said in my own defense.

"Really? You call that helping? How is that exactly?" She asked sneering and shaking her head.

"I don't understand why you get so upset about your music. You're obviously talented, otherwise you wouldn't be releasing an album and writing your own music for a well know producing company." I said angrily.

"Because I'm not perfect Chad!" She hastily pulled herself off the bed and crossed her arms firmly over her chest. "I got here by luck. I wasn't born famous with a ready supply of confidence like _your_ kind of people." I was surprised at her outburst and sat up on her bed.

"_My_ kind of people? What's that supposed to mean?" I narrowed my eyes at her annoyed.

"I mean exactly what I said. _Your_ kind of people. Rich kids born into ego-ridden families who grow up having everything they want and then some." She spat out and then whirled around on her heel to face the wall.

"First of all, what the hell? Second of all, what in the name of god is your problem?" I stood up and glared at her turned back. She didn't respond or look back at me, and my anger level shot up. "Fine. I'm leaving. See you later." I said leaving the room and grabbing my suitcase, waving at a concerned looking Connie and opening the front door

"Love you!" I shouted behind me to the guestroom door before closing the door behind me. I took the keys to the black Mazda I had rented out of my pocket and climbed into the car, starting up the engine and beginning to pull out of the driveway. I was straightened out on the street when I heard a door slam and looked back to the house, seeing Connie standing anxiously at a window watching her daughter coming storming across the lawn towards my car. I rolled down the passenger window which was closest to the direction she was coming from and waited for her to come and stand beside it.

"You _cannot _end an argument with 'I love you'." She said bitterly, her eyes dark with irritation.

"Pretty sure I just did." I said shrugging and giving her a 'what are you going to do about it' kind of look.

"That completely defeats the purpose of having an argument!" She shouted gesturing wildly with her hands, obviously pissed off.

"And yet you're still fighting with me."

"God! Why are you _so_ difficult?" She groaned rubbing her temple with her fingertips and squeezing her eyes closed.

I sighed and hit the unlock button on the side of the dashboard. "Get in." I said blatantly.

"What?" She said suspiciously.

"Get in." I said a little more firm this time, and she warily obliged. I turned off the engine and the two of us sat in silence for a moment.

"I do love you." I said , breaking the silence between us cautiously.

"Yeah. I know." She said staring straight ahead.

"That's why I said it before. I didn't want to leave without telling you. And I had to remind you that I still love you even though we're fighting." I explained, fiddling with my fingers on the steering wheel.

"But it just makes me look like the bad guy." She said quieter than before.

"Maybe that's because you are." I said under my breath, but she must have heard because she whipped her head around and glared at me again. "Sorry. For the last comment, not for our fight."

"Whatever." She snapped going back to staring ahead again. "You're just continuing to be difficult. Nothing new there." I glanced at the clock and groaned putting my head in my hands.

"Look, we're fighting. That's normal, I get it. It's probably over something ridiculous that neither of us will care about tomorrow, but for now we need to call a temporary truce." I said looking her way.

"Why?" She scoffed looking back at me.

"Because I have to catch my plane. And I can't leave without actually saying a proper goodbye to you." I said, and then I leaned forward and kissed her, at first hastily, because I was certain she was going to pull away, but when she leaned into it I was pleasantly surprised. I gently put my hand in her hair, smoothing it behind one ear and running my fingers lightly through it. When we pulled back a minute or two later we both looked a little disoriented in our situation. We sat there looking at each other, brows furrowed before she spoke up.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to call you. And, I'm going to be pissed. We'll fight about this then, and I'm going to win the agreement. But for now," She took a breath and met my eyes. "I love you too." Then she opened the passenger door and climbed out, shutting it lightly behind her. I started up the engine again slowly and waved as I pulled away from the curb. She smiled slightly and waved back until I turned the corner at the end of the street and couldn't see her through the review mirror any longer. I drove along in silence until I came to a stop at a stop light and wondered aloud to myself.

"What the hell just happened?" I chuckled trying to make sense of the whole thing, but couldn't and resorted to shaking my head in bewilderment. Whatever it was, it was good, and bad and everything in-between. Whatever it was, I would deal with it tomorrow when Sonny called me, but for now, I'm going to get myself to the airport, and fly home knowing that if I crashed, Sonny would know how much I loved her. That was my real reason for shouting 'I love you' to her back at the house. It's a fear of mine, that I'll never let her know about.

An hour and a half later I sat looking out the window of a first class seat, watching the pink clouds swirl around with the setting sun. I'm not sure that I was thinking of anything in particular, but out of nowhere came a pang in my chest. And afterwards all I could think about was how the farther the plane flew; the farther I got from Sonny. And that wasn't where I belonged.

Sonny's POV

I sat at my desk tapping my pencil against the edge and humming out a tune. This was how most of my song writing went. I wasn't always lucky enough to have a speeding train of inspiration slam into my chest and formulate an entire song all the time. I wish.

I tried connecting to my feelings, but they were a jumbled mush of resentment and defeat. Mostly at the little 'argument' this afternoon with Chad. He was obviously right, maybe I was too insecure. Maybe I was too uptight about the whole fight, but that didn't mean I was going to give him that satisfaction of knowing he was right. That would just be an ego boost for him and a soul crushing admittance for me. Neither of which would be good.

"So, have you cooled off yet?" My mom said coming into my room. She had left me alone when I had stormed back into the house once Chad left, and I guess had only just got up enough nerve to see if I was still about to explode.

"I'm not mad at you. You're safe," I sighed turning to see her standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Honey, I hate to ask, but what was all of this even about?" She cautiously came to stand next to where I was sitting and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"It was stupid. I said I wasn't excited to perform at David and Sarah's wedding, and he said I was too self conscious about my music. Then I got mad and," I made a face remembering the details about the fight. "I wasn't nice."

My mom snorted. "What did you do."

"I basically called him a spoiled rich kid, but in more words than that." I said sheepishly.

"And then he when he left and called back to you…" She pressed.

"He was being ridiculous." I said, describing Chad with that exact word for probably the thousandth time.

"And you stormed out because…"

"He had to know." I shrugged.

"So then that lip-lock was you telling him off?" She said suspiciously and I felt my face burn.

"You were spying on us?" I said shocked, and she just laughed.

"Honey, there was more drama in this house at that moment than on the General Hospital rerun I was watching. Your fight was the better of the two options."

"But," I looked away still feeling the blush on my cheeks.

"Sweetheart, I know you two kiss if that's what you're embarrassed. I wouldn't be surprised if you did more than-" But I had to cut her off.

"Mom!"

"Oh come on. You're eighteen now, and he'll be nineteen in a few months right? You're both adults, I'm just assuming you've behaved as such, plus with all the time you've been left alone together…" She was smiling and looking at me peevishly.

"Now you're the ridiculous one." I said burying my face in my hands trying to hide my red cheeks.

"That's my job honey. I'm just letting you know that it's okay, just make sure you're careful and-"

"Mom!" I protested again glaring at her from just above my hands.

"Alright, alright. I'll change the subject." She glanced over my shoulder at the empty sheet music. "Working?"

"Trying to," I groaned spinning back around and looking crestfallen at the lines covering the page. "I'm lacking inspiration."

"You could clean out you're jewelry box." She said and I turned to look at her confused.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry. That's an expression I used to use with all my friends in college."She smiled slightly. "It meant going through memories. Like when you go through you're cleaning out your jewelry box and keep remembering what everything is from?" She shrugged at my blank expression. "Oh well, must be passed your generation." She walked back to my doorway and shouted over her shoulder. "Too bad really! We had some good expressions way back when I was younger…"

"Okay mom, thanks," I said sarcastically, but an idea was formulating in my head. Maybe I should take her expression literally.

I stood up slowly and found my cream colored jewelry box on my dresser, it had been brought over when Chad stole all my clothes for my party, and sat down in the middle of my bed with it in my lap. I unlatched the little clip keeping it shut and let my eyes take in all the little shiny trinkets.

Piece after piece I pulled out little chains with arcade prize garnishes, plastic rings with chunky fake gems, and charm bracelets from birthdays past. My fingers grazed cold metal and I followed the white gold chain until the necklace was unraveled from the box. I held up the jewelry and let the yellow topaz catch the light and cast a gold shadow on the ceiling as it swung precariously from its chain. My mom was right, the sun-shaped necklace did bring back memories, ones with Chad. The night he gave it to me, the first night we had said I love you to each other, the fountain, the garden and gazebo dinner. Ever magical moment we had spent kissing each other. The memory reminded me of a younger self, even if it was only by half a year. Back before I started living by myself, back when I wasn't making a career out of my dream. But also back when my relationship seemed so easy. I knew what was stressing me, all this back and forth. Calling each other wasn't the same as being able to lean forward and touch his lips as they spoke to me. It wouldn't ever be enough.

I didn't feel trapped, I couldn't, I loved what I was doing. But I didn't feel complete either. What I needed was more memories like that beautiful flower filled night when Chad and I were still falling for each other. Wait, that was wrong. We still were falling for each other. I'm not sure a couple ever really stops falling. Chad and I certainly hadn't. And it seemed like David and Sarah still were. All those love-filled side glances at the dinner table. Those winks I saw him shoot at her. Giggles, smiles, laced fingers.

I jumped up. That was it. I quickly got my pencil scribbling over the music sheet. A chorus was formulating in my head, sweet and slow, for now just a poem, but I could feel it jump starting a song.

Who you are is falling over me  
Who you are is falling over me  
Who you are is everything I need  
Who you are is everything I need

I'm hoping, I'm waiting  
I'm praying you are the one  
And I'm hoping, I'm waiting  
I'm praying you are the one

Sarah and David would dance to this at their wedding. It's for them. But from the place where I feel I belong. Right next to Chad, who will be waiting off stage to dance with me.

**AN: *Cricket, Cricket, Cricket* Yeah...Well I thought it was okay, you know, kind of entertaining and all. I'm back to writing long chapters again, (the chapter I'm working on is so far 3,500 words lond and really only halfway done...) So that's something to look forward to :) Let me know what you think of ths chappie. Btw, don't you just love it when I through the title of the story into it? And I did it TWICE this chapter. Okay, okay, I know I need to chill, it's really not that cool. But eh, it's a monday morning, ad I haven't had any coffee yet. You really can't expect much from me. It' a dangerous thing to do. **

**Anyways, review for me and be my bff :)**

**And, if you haven't read my new story (which i just finished) go look it up! It's pretty sad, think you can handle it? (Yes, that is a challenge...)**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4ALways**


	21. Chapter 20 Wedding Day

**AN: Wow, okay, so big chapter here. Um, it's about 7,000 words long? lol, sorry. Anyways, this is skipping ahead to just about the wedding day, I know that's jumping over a lot, but I fugrued it would just be boring, plus that would bring Chad back into the picture, and come on, that is basicaly everyone's favorite person right? lol. **

**Oh, this chapter introduces a few new characters of my own creation, so make sure to tell me what you think of them, and if you'd enjoy seeing them more or if they just should disapear never to be heard of again. I know everyone liked my David, I mean, he is pretty much the perfect older brother that I should have gotten, but these next ones arn't quite the same... :)**

**Enjoy!**

Sonny's POV

"Sonny!" My mom shouts at me. I scramble out of my bed hastily and fumble in the dark for my light switch.

"Mom? What are you doing-" I was about to ask what she was doing at my apartment, it was near the end of July now, about three and a half weeks since my birthday party.

"You forgot? I reminded you like eight times yesterday! And, you aren't even dressed. This day is just off to a fantastic start." She pressed her fingers to her temples massaging them and clenching her eyes closed.

"Mom, it's fine, I'll just throw something on and be out in a minute. Do you want to go start the car?" I was thinking that by the expression on her face she might explode any minute. Which, would suck.

"Alright, be ready in less than five minutes." She warned and then let herself out as I sighed in relief. Truth way, I had forgot that she was coming. Today was the day before David and Sarah's wedding, and as the head wedding planner, my mom had assigned me to doing a list of things that I really had no clue about. Mostly, errands. Which I really didn't want to do. But what else could I say? Sorry mom and Sarah, I don't feel like contacting the photographer, picking up the flower arrangements and bringing them to the church, grabbing all the bridesmaid dresses from the dry cleaners, getting an update on the wedding cake, doing a sound check for tomorrow night's reception and then meeting everyone for a quick mani-pedi. I'd much rather sleep in and gorge myself on the box of frosted flakes in the cabinet. Yeah, that'd go over well.

I grabbed a pair of grey capri yoga pants off my floor and pulled a dark green scoop-necked t-shirt off a hanger in my closet before slipping on a pair of black flip-flops, brushing my teeth and snatching my purse while running out the door.

I found my mom waiting impatiently in her car, tapping the steering wheel nervously.

"Let's go." I said climbing into the blue truck that almost never left my mom's property. My mom started up the car and we pulled out of the complex's parking lot and headed out onto the open road.

"What are we doing first?" I asked scanning the side of the road and watching the trees whip by.

"_I _am going to get out once we get to church. I have to make sure everything is perfect, and then _you_ are going to take the truck and pick up Chad at the bus terminal." I looked at her quizzically.

"What?"

"Were you seriously not listening at all yesterday? I went over all of this with you. And you'd think you'd know when your boyfriend was going to show up. Geez Sonny." She shook her head and I sunk in my seat. I guess I had kind of zoned out yesterday, maybe not such a good idea. And Chad arriving today did explain why he hadn't replied to any of my texts lately. He always packed his phone in his checked baggage instead of his carry-on. Why? Who knew.

My mom and I pulled up at the church fifteen minutes later, and she quickly climbed out while I slid across the seat to the driver's side.

"Now don't forget anything, understand?" She said firmly and I nodded.

"I got it all under control." I said with confidence that I didn't actually feel. I cranked up the radio and drove off out of town and onto the freeway that took me to the bus terminal. I listened to the shouting voice of Taylor Swift until I saw a bus pull up and a blonde about my age climb off in the crowd. I honked my horn and saw him look my way before smiling and rushing over while I let myself out of the car.

"Hey," I said pressing myself into the happy embrace he offered. He kissed the top of my head gently and then with a laugh said,

"You look like you just got out of bed." I snorted and glared up at him.

"That's because I _did._" He just continued to laugh as he loaded his suitcase into backseat and joined me back inside the truck. "Oh, and I meant to say hello too," He grinned cheekily buckling up.

"Yeah that's what I thought you meant." I glared at him and he smirked. "By the way, how did you manage on a bus?" Now it was my turn to grin maliciously.

"Oh, that." He paused. "It was brutal." I couldn't help but laugh. Chad on a bus, what a sight to see. "And it's never happening again."

"Of course not, a little public transportation is way too much to ask of the Chad Dylan Cooper." I teased and he sulked.

"How about we forget the last five minutes and instead you start explaining to me what it is we have to do today." I really didn't want to give in, but he had a point, I did need to get a lot done, and he certainly wouldn't be much help in a pissy mood.

"Fine." I pouted and he grinned when I gave in.

"Good."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Honestly, this is super immature."

"I agree completely."

"Praise the lord…" He laughed and I couldn't help but chuckle along as well.

"I'm not a pack mule, you know that right?" Chad said as I opened the door leading out of the dry-cleaners. I made sure to ignore the comment.

"Thank you!" I called out as the two of us exited the store.

"Yeah, you're welcome…" Chad grumbled under his breath and I stifled a laugh, instead focusing on the car in the parking spot ahead. I knew that if I met his eyes and saw how annoyed he was to be holding a stack of bridesmaids dresses in plastic sheets, I would totally lose it.

"Really? No reaction at all? Not even a 'deal with it' look?" He grunted. "Some girlfriend you are,"

"Oh, right, poor Chad, and his over demanding favor asking girlfriend…" I smiled peevishly at him opening the backseat door and hanging the garment bags up on the hangers one by one.

"It's true. I really don't do favors." He said earnestly.

"Except, for me." I grinned in mock sweetness.

"Where to next slave driver?" He said groaning as we climbed back into our seats.

"Hmm, next on the list is the florist." I said. "You can do some more heavy lifting there too." I teased.

"Fantastic." He said leaning his head against the window in a pout. "Just what I wanted to do with my day."

We spent the rest of the drive to the florist teasing each other and catching up on everything the other had missed in the last few weeks. Not that we hadn't been in touch, it was just different to hear in person than over the phone or reading from a text.

"That's the third time they've snuck into my dressing room and done that in the last week." Chad said, complaining of Nico and Grady's recent mischief.

"Well, you know their rationale is that you're show is ending, and so is So Random! so they have to make the best of it." I smiled and he continued to glare in my direction. "I'm just saying." I shrugged.

We pulled into the gravel parking lot of the plant nursery and floral arrangements 'sanctuary' and parked the truck.

"Alright, here's the plan, you load all the arrangements, I'll supervise, and then if you're good I'll let you drive back to the church while I call the bakery and the photographer." I explained as we trudged up the pathway into the nursery.

"Is it a surprise that I don't like that idea?" Chad said nonchalantly.

"No, not really." I smiled and then turned to the lady at the counter. "Hi, I'm here to pick up some arrangements. They should be under David Monroe."

"Of course, we were expecting you." She motions for us to follow her and leads us ou back to a patio where six big pedestal pots, and twelve boxes of wrapped bouquets of violets and lilies are waiting for us.

"Here you are hon," I say grinning at Chad and making a shooing motion with my hands, encouraging him to get a move on and load the truck.

"Are you two the bride and groom?" The lady asked, her lips turned up in a polite smile.

"Oh, uh, no…" I said nervously laughing and watching Chad grumble past me with a flower pot in his arms.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, it just seemed like you two were…" But she couldn't seem to think of the right words.

"We are dating, but just that…" I said awkwardly.

"Ah, well just you wait, this will be you soon too…." She said in a sing-song voice, and I was glad Chad wasn't here to egg on with the teasing.

Ten minutes later and Chad and I were back in the truck, with him steering us back down the gravel road.

"So, I didn't hear you argue back about you being the one getting married." He said casually, completely catching me off guard.

"You were listening? How is that even possible? You weren't even in the room at the time…" I said a little taken aback. So much for getting out of the teasing.

"Yes, well it's a little known fact that I have super human hearing abilities. Both a blessing and a curse really." He smirked taking his eyes off the road to look at me with a confidence filled grin.

"Right." I scoffed. "And no, I guess I didn't argue the idea. Should I have?" This time I was the one to catch him off guard.

"Uh, well no, I don't think so…" He said glancing at me with a sudden nervous expression.

"Chad?"

"Hmm?" He said keeping his eyes firmly on the road.

"I'm not asking you to propose to me. You can calm down." I manage out before I burst into laughter.

"I _know_ that." He says bitterly, but I can tell he's smiling a little too. "Don't you have some phone calls to make?"

"Oh right, I'll get right on that darling." I say sugar coating the last word before pulling my cell out of the front pocket of my jeans and dialing one of the numbers my mom had given me.

"Hi, I'm calling to ask about a wedding cake? Yes, it's already ordered, under the name David Monroe? Uhuh. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything was still on schedule for tomorrow. Oh good. Thank you so much, I'm sure it's going to beautiful. Uhuh, thanks you too!" I hung up the phone and dialed the second number on the post-it-note my mom secured to the dashboard.

"Hi, this is Sonny Monroe calling for Sarah Jennings? I needed to make sure that you are all set to be at the church tomorrow at two? Right, thank you. And you have directions? Good, we'll see you tomorrow then, thanks so much." I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the carpeted ground.

"What was that for?" Chad asked me suspiciously.

"I hate calling random ass people." I groaned looking out the window.

"Seriously?" Chad laughed.

"Shut up! It's not funny," I complained but Chad made no effort what so ever to stifle pleasure at my distaste. He continued to shake his head in amusement until we pulled in the church's parking lot. "Alright, have fun unloading the truck." I said hopping out of the passenger seat.

"Wait, I had to load it by myself and now you're expecting me to unload it too?" He said blinking in amused disbelief.

"Yup, I have _other things_ to do." I said mysteriously while taking the dresses out of the backseat and walking to the church's big double doored entrance. When I got inside I saw David leaning against the wall looking antsy and out of place.

"Hey, Vid are you okay?" I asked tilting my head to the side.

"What? Oh, it's just you." He said shaking himself out of a daze.

"Oh yeah, just me, good to see you too." I glare at him good naturedly, managing to coax a grin onto his worried face. "But really, are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm just-"

"David!" I heard a voice call out, and David jumped at the shrillness.

"Shit, don't tell…" He begged, wedging himself behind an open door so that he was hidden from sight. A few seconds later my mom came wandering down the hallway.

"Sonny, good you're here." She said preoccupied. "Have you seen your brother anywhere?" I grinned widely.

"Nope, not yet. But if I do I'll let him know you're looking for him." I said in a peppy voice.

"Thanks sweetheart." She said wandering through a door down another hallway. Once she was safely out of eye sight and ear shot, David slowly crept out from behind the door.

"Thanks Son," He said relieved that I hadn't blown his cover. "She's been chasing me down all day and making me do all this meticulously awful work. I was tying bows around little baggies of flower petals for an hour and a half this morning. And I'm never going to get that time back." He made a face and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Well, then how about you go help Chad unload the truck? Heavy lifting and all that, it's better than working on setting up table cloths right?"

"Yes! Manly work," He said grinning and cracking his knuckles pompously.

"Oh please, safe the show for someone who cares," I rolled my eyes again and punched him in the arm as he passed me to go outside.

"Oh little sister, you care, you've always loved having a big old brother around." He called after me.

"Keep telling yourself that!" I laughed, making my way down the hall looking for the room where the bridal party would be getting ready tomorrow so I could unload all the dresses. I heard giggling and peeked through a door, peering into a room set up with mirrors, hair products and various make-up applicants. This must be the place.

I pushed open the door and found Sarah, her best friend Annie, her younger cousin Rachel. Annie was sweet, dark haired and tan skin, middle height and curves in all the right places. She had gone to school with Sarah; they had met in third grade when Annie moved here from Spain. She really didn't have much of an accent left at all, but when she started speaking Spanish, it fired out of her mouth at lightning speed. Rachel was a lot like Sarah, skinny and petite, but with light brown hair instead of red. Rachel was a year older than me, but in the couple of times we had hung out we had gotten along great. I was about to greet everyone when my eyes laid upon one person I did not want to see. My cousin. Charlotte. Or Lottie, as she was called by our family. Much to her dislike of course. Sarah, Annie and Rachel all looked slightly uncomfortable, and Lottie simply stood there laughing, probably at one of her own jokes. That's just how she was.

Lottie turned around when she saw that the other girls where no longer paying attention to her. (They were instead begging me with their eyes to save them).

"Oh, hey Sonny." She said in an off-handed way. She was all together the biggest snob I had ever met. If she had a better personality I'm sure she'd be loved by all. She had nice looks, tall, stick thin, blonde hair, gray eyes, skin that tanned nicely. But she was constantly belittling people, and driving them to the edge of insanity with her annoying tendencies. The worst being her laugh; it was a cross between a duck with hay fever and a dying pig.

"Hey Lottie," I said pulling off a kind enough smile and letting myself completely into the room.

"What are you doing here?" She asked giving me a once over. This was something she constantly did; size people up, judge, rinse and repeat.

"I'm bringing in the bridesmaids dresses." I said holding out my arms with the clear plastic garment bag encased clothing.

"Oh, cool." She snorted. "It's nice of you to drop by." She turned away about to start up another conversation with her newfound 'friends'. And Sarah shot me another pleading look.

"Actually, we have to try them on and make sure Sarah gives her approval." I said hanging the dresses on the rack by a changing screen.

"Whose we?" She asked glaring.

"Well, the bridesmaids. Rachel and I, and then Annie's the maid of honor." I said slowly, watching her face to see the flash of evil in her gaze.

"Oh, _you_ were asked to be in the wedding?" She glanced between Sarah and I, and I shrugged.

"Why not? Sarah and I are great friends, so when she asked me of course I said yes." This threw her off. Good.

"Oh, cool." If you didn't know already, this was kind of her catchphrase. For absolutely everything. Good or bad. She was quite while Annie, Rachel and I slipped behind the screen to change, and remained unusually quiet when we emerged a couple minutes later wearing our short black, one shouldered dresses. We all had on black heels, but we had been allowed to chose whatever ones we wanted so that the three of us weren't so uniformal. Each dress had a little black sash trailing off the back of the dress's one shoulder and I smiled at my reflection. The dress was admittedly adorable. You have to love Sarah for having fashion sense.

Lottie opened her mouth, probably to say something to wipe the smile off my face, but she was cut off by a knock on the door.

"Hey, anybody naked?" I laughed when I recognized the voice.

"No, come on in," I called and the door opened slowly before the blonde head popped through.

"Well don't you look lovely," He said, his smile reaching his eyes as his grinned at me.

"Hold on, _who _is _this_?" Lottie said sidling over as Chad shut the door behind him. She looked at him with what I guessed to be a seductive expression, but came off as more of obsessive. "I think I've seen you before." She placed a finger on her chin and batted her eyelashes.

"Um, well you might have." Chad shrugged glancing over at me uncertainly.

"What did you say your name was?" She walked around him, and it reminded me of a lion stalking their prey. Probably the right analogy for this situation.

"Uh, I didn't. But, it's Chad." I walked over to Sarah and elbowed her in the side to get her attention.

"Chad's doomed." I whispered and she giggled nodding in agreement.

"Oh, just Chad? Are you some sort of mystery man with no last name?" I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"No, if you want my full name it's Chad Dylan Cooper…" He said carefully, fully expecting the usual reaction when people become aware of his celebrity status.

"Wait a _minute._ Chad Dylan Cooper?" I covered my ears seeing her mouth start to open wide. It's a good thing I did too because in half a second she screamed. "Chad Dylan Cooper? You're on that show!"

"Yup. That I am." He nodded, creasing him forehead in concern.

"Wow. And _what _brings _you_ here?"

"Well, I was invited to the wedding." Lottie tilted her head up at him and pouted her lips out so he quickly added. "You know. As a plus one."

"So, you're here with someone? Just as friends I hope." I began wondering if she lived under a rock. Did she not read magazines? Or watch TV? Chad and I were constantly front page media news, how could she not know this.

"Not really." Chad said taking a step back, but Lottie followed suit quickly.

"And you aren't getting worried here?" Sarah whispered into my ear. Chad met my eyes over Lottie's head and narrowed them in a 'this person is crazy' look.

"Nah, he can handle himself." I said confident that he could.

"Oh, well then I hope it's not something too serious, I have a feeling that the two of us will get _very _close…" She began walking her fingers up his arm resting them finally on his red t-shirt covered shoulder.

"Actually, we're pretty serious." He said shrugging off her hand. I raised an eyebrow and he nodded his head as if to say 'duh'. Lottie seemed to catch this and whipped her head around to look in the direction Annie, Rachel, Sarah and I were standing in.

"What was that?" She said staring at me accusingly, her gray eyes narrowing.

"Nothing really." I said smiling. "I'm just amused."

"What exactly is so amusing to you?" She snapped back.

"Well for starters, you're trying to steal Chad away from his girlfriend." Annie said laughing.

"So? What's it to you?" Wow, Lottie's got attitude.

Chad cleared his throat. "Well, Sonny's my girlfriend." This made Lottie stare blankly, then whip her head from me to Chad and back again. Then her annoying laugh rang load and clear.

"Right, because _you_ would be able to date Chad Dylan Cooper." Seriously? Under I rock I tell you.

"And why is that?" Chad said defensively. "Sonny's gorgeous." This made Lottie laugh again and elbow Chad in the ribs like they were best friends.

"Good one." I saw Chad's eyes flash in anger.

"Excuse me." He said gruffly.

"I mean, come on its _Sonny_." In the blink of an eye Chad had briskly walked to my side and had locked lips with me, much to my surprise.

"Ooooooooooh," Annie, Sarah and Rachel said in unison, acting like little girls and giggling in delight. I smiled into our kiss, imaging Lottie's expression. Horror, shock, envious. For once.

I was just about right too, when we pulled away after a long moment, Lottie's mouth was ajar, eyes wide with dismay.

"Sonny is my girlfriend. End of story." He said wrapping his arm around my waist possessively. Lottie huffed angrily and stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door loudly behind her.

"She always did like to make a dramatic exit." I chuckled.

"Who is she? I don't like her." Chad said stubbornly.

"That would have to be my cousin. Lottie." I said with a grimace. "And nobody really does."

"I can't fathom why," Sarah said rolling her eyes.

"But moving on, I believe I might have said earlier that you look lovely." He said pulling me close so that I blushed.

"You might have."

"Well, I lied." He said nonchalantly.

"What?" I said pulling back put off.

"You don't look lovely," He pulled me back flush against his chest and leaned in close so that he could whisper into my ear. "You look absolutely sexy."

"Okay love birds. We can only take so much." Sarah complained and I turned away not wanting them to see how red my face was.

"It's getting late anyway. We should get back to my apartment." I said. "I'll see you all tomorrow." I took Chad's hand and leading him out of the room and down the hallway to the parking lot.

"You finished right?" Quite frankly, I wanted to get out of there before Lottie came back.

"Sonny! I was just looking for you!" My mom called from the other direction. "You still need to do you're sound check in the reception hall." I groaned.

"Mom, everything is going to work out perfectly tomorrow, do I really have to do a sound check?" I looked around nervously, waiting for Lottie to make another appearance to get revenge.

"No, the sound check is to _make sure_ that it will work out perfect tomorrow." She said looking at me sternly.

"But-" I was about to further protest when David came tearing down the hallway.

"Mom! I was just looking for you!" He said stopping abruptly in front to f the three of us. "A delivery guy just showed up asking for you? Did you order a fountain?" He caught my eye for a moment and winked at me. Apparently, this was him repaying me for earlier.

"Yes, just tell him to set it up by the front doors." She said calmly waving him off.

"Wait, what? No, no, I don't think you ordered this one…" He said franticly, pulling her arm gently.

"David, come on, I have so many other things to do."

"No, mom, I highly doubt that you ordered a naked mermaid chocolate fountain for the entrance." This got my mom's attention.

"What? No of course not," She was walking briskly with him towards the parking lot and ranting on about the unreliability of over the phone hired help.

"We'll just have to do the sound check tomorrow Son!" David called over his shoulder at me, and I waved back while mouthing a thank-you.

"Well that was cool of him." Chad said as we made out way outside to the truck.

"He owed me from earlier; I saved him from more arts and crafts. So it was really only fair." I shrugged, but deep down I was thankful for my older brother.

"What are we doing when we get back?" Chad asked me later when we were only about five minutes from my apartment.

I yawned to emphasize my point before replying. "Going to bed."

"Oh good. I thought you might have something planned that I was going to have to muster up enough strength to live through." He said chuckling as we pulled into the complex's parking lot and climbed out of the car.

"Hey, I don't do that very often." I said punching him lightly in the arm.

"Whatever you say." He smirked and I did my best to ignore him while I unlocked my front door and let us inside. We had only just stepped over the threshold when Chad dropped his bag to the floor and bounded over to the couch before collapsing onto the cushions.

"Oh couch, I've missed you so much." He said in a muffled voice. "You're my favorite sleeping buddy." I laughed and crossed my arms. What I had been planning to talk to him about began nagging in the back of my head, and I licked my lips and cleared my throat before I lost my courage.

"You know, you don't have to sleep on the couch," Chad slowly picked his head up and quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Since when?" He said cautiously sitting back up.

"Since I turned eighteen and lost my guilty conscious for ignoring my mother's wishes." I said slowly, edging myself bit by bit towards my bedroom. A smile creped across Chad's face, and I hurriedly tried to find a way to escape. "I'm going to take a quick shower; you can get settled if you like." I turned and rushed into my bedroom grabbing clothes to sleep in before locking myself my bathroom.

"What am I doing?" I whisper to myself, and even though I sound scared, there's a smile on my face that I can't get rid of. "What _am_ I doing?" This time I giggle softly and force myself to walk forward and turn the knob in the shower so that steam fills the room. I quickly strip down and climb into the white tiled stall before going to town with soap against my skin and hair. Minutes pass and I let myself stand there in the hot water letting it just stream down my back, trying to think of ways to stall but not being able to find any.

I turn off the water and step dripping wet onto the bath mat on the floor before toweling myself off slowly. I pull on the gray softie's shorts and black tank top I had grabbed then towel down and run a comb through my hair till it's untangled and dry. A look in the mirror shows my make-up less face with a pink tinge already forming. Oh well, time to go. The door creaks when I open it and I peer nervously into my room, which is dark except for the soft glow coming from a lamp on my bedside table.

After my eyes adjust to the dimness, I see Chad's form sprawled out on my bed in blue and white plaid boxers and a gray shirt, his eyes shut tightly and his mouth slightly ajar. I quietly make my way to my bed and climb in on my side carefully, trying not to wake him up. I switch off the light and lower myself onto my pillow, just beginning the slow deep breathing pattern of sleep when I'm jolted awake.

I gasp in surprise at the arms wrapping around my waist and my heart races urgently.

"We're you asleep?" I whisper turning towards him.

"Almost," He sighs pulling me close against him so that I can just barely make out his eyes in the dark.

"I'm sorry I woke you up then," I breathe out.

"I'm not," He kisses my jaw and I find my hands resting lightly on his shoulders. His kisses travel up to my lips and I eagerly kiss him back. We seem almost feverish as our lips move in synchronization and our hands flit around each other's bodies, not landing in any one spot for too long. Gripping his arm, sliding down his chest, tangled in his hair, splaying around his neck, until they decide to focus on tugging at the bottom hem of his shirt. Chad breaks our connection and breaths sweetly into my face,

"Need a little help?" I nod jerkily and he laughs lightly, pulling away so that he can peel the shirt up and over his head before it lands somewhere on my floor. I bit my lip and meet his eyes, which catch what little light is streaming in from my widow. "Better?"

"So much," I just barely whisper out before my breath hitches and his lips glide across the skin of my neck to my collar bone and his hands firmly grasp my hips. I happily let my fingertips explore the surface of his chest and abs, tracing muscles and my own little patterns lightly across them, bring little shudders forth from beneath my hands. When my fingers graze his waistband he groans, rolling so that he is laying on top of me. His lips move up and he nips my ear.

"Chad," I squeak out, and I feel him grin as he goes back to kissing my lips. One of his hands moves my leg so that it's hitched around his hip, and in this new position, being aware of my own heat, I now know that yes, we are both excited.

But then I tense up. Chad notices and gently pulls back, our eyes meeting and our lungs breathing in heavily. I gulp, afraid of what I'm about to say.

"Chad, I can't-"

"Shh," He says in a soothing voice. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my left ear without breaking our eye contact. "We don't have to do anything." He rolls of me, back to wear he was lying before, with me tucked into the crook of his arm, and his hand continually smoothing my hair. "I'm happy right here."

And I feel relieved, because I'm not ready yet I don't think, and I'm glad that he understands.

"I love you." He says into my ear, and I smile before replying.

"I love you too." And the two of us drift off to sleep tangled up in each other.

"I do." Sarah says in a strained voice, smiling through her tears and making an effort to stop their flow.

"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride." The pastor says happily and my brother leans down placing a gently kiss on his new wife's lips. The pews burst into a round of applause as they break away grinning and turn to wave at the crowd and jog back up the aisle as a newly married couple. I sniff and hurriedly wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Don't even pretend; I saw you crying up there." Chad says coming to stand by me as the couple leaves the room the way Sarah had came in forty minutes earlier.

"I'm allowed to cry. That was beautiful." I sniff again and Chad pulls me into a hug.

"I know," He gives me a squeeze and then pulls back a bit to give me a chaste kiss. "Have I told you how sexy you look today?" He says quietly, making me blush deeply.

"Maybe once or twice," I smile up though my eyelashes sheepishly. "But I could say the same to you." I took in his light blue button down tucked into dark gray dress pants, all put together with black leather shoes and a belt.

"I know that too," He smirked and then leaned down for another quick kiss. We broke away when someone made an obnoxious scoff in distaste.

Over Chad's shoulder I could see Lottie glaring evilly; lips pursed and eyes narrowed defiantly.

"Hey Lottie," I said mustering up as kind of a smile as I could. "Enjoying the wedding?" Chad spun around and saw my cousin standing there in a skimpy deep red dress and heels that Tawni wouldn't even attempt to walk in.

"Oh yeah. It's great." She said shrugging and keeping her gaze locked on my boyfriend. "How about you Chad?" Have you been enjoying yourself these last couple of days?" She asked him, obviously ignoring me, and trying to get Chad to say something to describe how unhappy she wanted him to be in our relationship.

"Yeah, I love being here. Seeing David, and Sarah and Connie, no matter how hectic the reason is. Plus, staying in Sonny's apartment has its benefits too." He caught my eye and winked at me, which Lottie took in with wide eyes. If what Chad had said didn't imply anything, then the embarrassed blush did because Lottie quickly excused herself from our conversation and stalked off to find some other prey.

"Chad!" I said smacking him in the arm as soon as she was out of earshot. "She thinks we've…" Chad smirked and casually cut in.

"Well, we did sleep together."

"But not like _that_!" I hissed glancing around to make sure nobody else heard him. All he did was laugh at my scared expression.

"Hey, hey, alright. I'll stop," He said as I grimaced at him ruefully. "Besides, I believe that we have a reception to get to." He took my hand and pulled me along reluctantly behind him. He dragged me down the hallways until we found the reception room, set up with long buffet tables and a dance floor already flooded with people, where in the middle I saw David and Sarah swaying gently, him in his sharp tuxedo, and her in her white beaded strapless gown.

"Dance with me?" Chad said turning in my direction and giving me a smile that I couldn't say no to. He placed his hands securely at my waist and I draped my own around his neck and we joined the rest of the swaying party goers on the dance floor.

"When are you scheduled to perform?" He asked me after a few moments of us dancing close together in silence.

"Oh, um," I grab his wrist and wrenching it around to check the watch strapped around his arm. "Ten minutes." I saw looking up at him with wide eyes. It had almost slipped my mind.

"Hey, you're going to be fantastic." He said sensing my fear and squeezing my arms reassuringly. I clenched my eyes closed and tried to qualm my nerves, but before I could open them again I felt a light brushing of lips on my own. I leaned into the kiss and felt the butterflies living in my stomach ebb away.

"Ahem." I heard a voice clear itself and jumped back to see my mom standing there smiling awkwardly. "Sorry to, interrupt. But we're going to need you in just a couple of minutes." She directed at me.

"I'll be watching." Chad said squeezing my hand as my mom motioned for me to follow her out of the crowd. "You're going to be fantastic!" He called as I looked over my shoulder longing to go back to dancing with him.

Within the next couple of minutes I was informed that I'd walk onto the low stage to the standing microphone introduce myself and wait for the band to cue me in.

"You're on in one minute." My mom said smiling excitedly. And I tried to do the same. Why was I so nervous? Was this because it was the first serious live performance since I started taking a musical career seriously? It's not like I didn't know anyone here, it wasn't a regular consort with random strangers, the place was packed with family and friends. I had never felt this way when I had performed on So Random! I just needed to buck up. I took a deep breath and walked briskly onto the stage.

"Hey everyone, I just want to wish David and Sarah congratulations on the beginning of their new life together," I paused while everyone applauded. "And, I'm also here to give them their wedding gift, this is Falling Over Me." I looked off stage to the band and nodded my head while the band counted out a rhythm on the drums and stuck a few chords.

"_I'm standing in the center of the room  
I'm watching boys follow girl's perfume  
All is as it should be I assume  
Except for the distance between me and you_

I found David and Sarah in the crowd and smiled when I met their eyes. David was grinning and glancing from me to Sarah and back again, and even from here up on stage I could see that Sarah's eyes were shinning like they were all through the wedding ceremony.

"_You're standing as a flower on a wall  
The room is still but we're about to fall  
And all the names that brought us here  
Simply fade away_

"Who you are is falling over me  
Who you are is falling over me  
Who you are is everything I need  
Who you are is everything I need

I saw people swaying gently to the slow mellow music the band was playing, and somewhere guests began clapping along to the beat.

_"I'm hoping, I'm waiting  
I'm praying you are the one  
And I'm hoping, I'm waiting  
I'm praying you are the one_

"I can't believe that night turned into today  
I used the line you were supposed to say  
And all the names that brought us here  
Now we have to thank

I saw my mom in the crowd and returned the huge smile she was giving me and suppressing a laugh at the cheesy thumbs-up she flashed me afterwards, having to focus on the lyric's I had ahead of me to keep a straight face.

"Who you are is falling over me  
Who you are is falling over me  
And who you are has got me on my knees  
Who you are has got me on my knees

"I'm hoping, I'm waiting  
I'm praying you are the one

Next my eyes fell on Chad who was in the middle of everyone, grinning wildly and clapping alonq with the rest of the crowd. I took a deep breath and crooned out;

"If you want I will wait, I will follow  
I'm here to stay  
As long as we're promised tomorrow  
I promise you today I'll wait, I'll wait

"Who you are is falling over me  
Who you are is falling over me  
And who you are has got me on my knees  
Who you are is everything

I lowered my voice and sang softer the last verse, scanning over everyone standing, swaying, and clapping before me. Knowing exactly who I was singing for and who I was singing about.

"I'm hoping, I'm waiting  
I'm praying you are the one  
I'm hoping, I'm waiting  
I'm praying you are the one  
You are the one"

Silence fell and then there was a burst of applause and cheering and I couldn't help but laugh. I pointed out to David and Sarah and bowed before quickly exiting the stage. I ran down the steps to the floor and straight into another body running in the opposite direction. Jarred, I stepped back ready to apologize before I saw who it was and slammed back into them.

"What did I tell you?" Chad whispered hugging me back tightly.

**AN: So? What did ya think? It actually turned out way better than I expected, although it took me forever to write up, I had to save it and shut it down a couple of times instead of writting up a chapter in one sitting like I normally do. In fact, I just finished this chapter yesterday, so there is yet to be any ideas for the next one. In which case, let me know what you want to see next!**

**Also, what were you're thoughts on the whole apartment conflict? Lol, it was funny to write, but I want to know where you want me to go with all this...jazz...**

**Review and you get a gold star!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**_  
_


	22. Chapter 21 Get A Move On

**AN: YOu know that feeling you get when you feel super guilty for lying? Well I'm going to try and not get that while writting this, and instead of telling you I've been super busy with summer and such, I'll just be straight with you. Truth is, I've had plenty of time to write. My laptop is practically glued to my side, and word is up and running perfectly fine! I just haven't felt like writting for this story. Don't get me wrong, I still love Channy, but it's difficult to find the motivation and inspiration when the show itself isn't airing anymore. Yeah, there's SO RANDOM which I'll at least give credit to for being funny if not cheesey at times, but it's really not the same. I feel bad for not updating, and I'm really not sure that a lot of people will have hung on here to continue reading whenever I managed to get back to this and post something. But to whoever who did, I did it! I finally got a chapter put together, it's not my best one, that much is true, but it's a chapter that helps out with the plot line. Now that I've actaully gotten around to writting for WWB again, I've got the ideas flowing and I think I'll probably do one or two more chapters for this before ending it. After that, I'll see what happens next. I do have an idea for a sequel, but I'm not sure you guys would be completely interested in a continuation or not. We'll see! But please let me know your thoughts on the subject! **

**Oh, who's heard Demi's new single? Skyscraper I think it's called... It's really a great but sad song, and I'm glad she's recording still! Check it out if you haven't already!**

Chad's POV

"Chad?" I blinked my eyes open and looked into her face, though her eyes were still shut tight. "Chad," She sighed again shifting on the bed sleepily. "I really can't move." I took inventory and saw what she meant. We had fallen asleep in a tangle: her on her back and me laying partly on top of her on my stomach, and I saw now that my arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, pinning her down.

"Sorry," I chuckled relinquishing my death grip on her and rolling over. She opened her eyes and pouted turning on her side to face me. "Now what's wrong?" I laughed at her expression.

"I didn't want you to completely let go," She blinked tiredly running a hand through her messy bed-head hair.

"Well you should have been more specific than." I purred reaching out and pulling her back against y chest before kissing her forehead lightly.

"Much better," She sighed snuggling down into the crook of my neck. I closed my eyes to see if I could go back to sleep, but found it impossible when her lips traveled across my bare neckline and shoulder. I tensed up, waiting for her to stop, but she didn't and instead giggled looking up at me innocently.

"Ticklish much?" She smiled devilishly, and I grimaced at her from across our shared pillow. "That's a yes if I ever saw one." And she lead her mouth to trail up to my jaw. I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed shakily, the tickling sensation being taken over by heated little sparks left behind from her lips.

"Do we have plans today?" I shuddered out, and opened one eye to see her response.

"Nope." She said, popping the 'p' sound at the end.

"Thank goodness." I said, giving in and flipping myself to crash my lips against hers feverishly. She was trailing her fingers across my chest as she had taken to doing since we stared sleeping in the same bed, and right as I let out a shudder at her fingers on the waistband on my boxers, a loud noise made the two of us jump.

"Hello?" Sonny said after scrambling for her phone while it blared on her bedside table. "Oh um, hi." She said in surprise. Then she rolled over and glanced my way. "No, I'm not really doing anything."

I reached my arm out and swung the phone over her head and to my ear. "Actually, she's _very_ busy." I said in my most seductive voice, and then I snapped it shut.

"Chad!" She gapped, and then I watched with amusement as she flung the pillow out from under my head and crashed it onto my face. "I cannot _believe_ you just did that!" She repeatedly swung the pillow down onto my head over and over and climbed over so that she was straddling above my knees while I defenselessly tried to cover my face. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She shouted and I caught her wrists with a smile, suspending her over me. "That was my cousin. Lottie? _And_ I was on speaker."

"Oh, whoops." I shrugged and smirked.

"You are terrible." She said, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Do you know what she's going to think?"

"Yeah, it's exactly what I'm thinking." I winked. She rolled her dark eyes and tried to shove herself away but I held fast. "Where do you think you're going?" I laughed.

"Away!" She said, trying to jerk away again, and this time I let her go.

"Sonny, look maybe I took it too far. I'm sorry." I said sitting myself up as she crawled off the bed in a huff and stormed out of the room. She spun around and looked at me steadily, as if trying to read my mind and see how sincere I was being. I promise, I meant it all!

"Fine, you're forgiven." She sighed, uncrossing her arms and accepting the hug I offered.

"I think it's too early to be fighting." I yawned, holding her body tighter in my arms.

"You do know it's 1 in the afternoon right?" She said cocking an eyebrow.

"Of…course I do. And you know that your 'pajamas' are rising dangerously high right?" I pointed down and she stepped back, blushing and tugging the over sized t-shirt she decided to wear to bed last night (I think it was for a secret plot to kill me), trying to stretch it back down to cover enough skin to be considered modest in public; much to my dismay. It has seemed to suit her climbing up her thighs.

"Of…course I do. That's the way I like it." She said, but according to her deep red cheeks, I could tell that she was just trying to play it off.

"In that case, you can just wear it for the rest of the day." I shrugged. "Since we don't have any plans."

"Fine then." She said raising both eyebrows in surprise.

"Wait, really?" I said amused. I didn't actually think she'd do it.

"Yeah, really. But you have to leave your shirt off." She smiled. "Have to at least make it fair."

"Deal." I said holding out my hand, she took it and squeezed hard as we shook on our new bet.

"Oh, and I need you to take the garbage out." She said, hiking a thumb behind her and pointing at the trash can in the kitchen that looked about ready to burst.

"I feel like you specifically leave chores until I get here so that you can make me do them." I sighed, slumping my shoulders and trudging through the doorway to swing the trash bag over my shoulder.

"You'll never know." She said sweetly and sweeping her hand to the door, motioning for me to leave.

"Great." I let myself out into the hallway and jogged down the stairs to the main floor. Sonny leaned over the railing just as I was letting myself out the door to outside.

"Oh and one more thing."

"What?" I said stepping outside and being met with water peppering my hair and the rest of my body.

"It's kind of raining!" She laughed loudly from the floor above.

"No shit!" I mumbled to myself. Looking up at the gray sky that was spewing droplets in every direction. "'Kind of' is an understatement Sonny." I called back to her.

"Looks like it." She giggled and I shot a look up the stairwell at her before kicking the outside door shut and wandering down the walkway to the big garbage bin in the parking lot.

Once the trash bag was in its rightful place and I was back in Sonny's apartment, the two of us were standing facing each other, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"That was a dirty trick." I said, being sure to hold off the shiver I felt coming on so that my attempt at sternness didn't come off as pitiful.

"No, it was just a mean trick. A dirty trick would be to-" She started.

"No, that's enough. Back to me." I held up my hand. "You owe me. Big time."

"How so? You got a little wet, you aren't going to die." She laughed grinning.

"You don't know that! I could catch a cold, contract pneumonia, get fluid in my lungs and die slowly in the hospital alone." I babbled hysterically.

"You wouldn't be alone…" She said slowly, batting her eyelashes at me and I did my best to ignore it.

"Oh, right, I'd have the paparazzi."

"And…" She pressed.

"My mom. And dad I guess." I shrugged.

"And…" She said with more urgency.

"I could probably get David to come if I asked super nicely."

"And…"

"Oh! How could I forget? Your mom would of course be there." I smiled innocently.

"Alright, fine. Forget about me why don't you?" She pouted, spinning on her heel and huffing out a breath so that her hair blew out of her face.

"Hey, I wasn't forgetting about you." I said coming up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist before she could jump away.

"Really? So mentioning everybody but me was you remembering?" She said skeptically.

"No, I was just counting on you being in jail for killing me." I laughed gently.

"Right." She groaned, but let loose a smile too. "Except that this face," She said pointing to her own. "Does _not_ belong in jail."

"Right." I groaned mimicking her voice. "You're too perfect."

"Ah ah ah!" She protested. "I am _not_ perfect."

"No no, not in the slightest." I purred in her ear, and tickled her across her stomach. "You have many flaws, would you like me to name them?"

"Chad." She said in a monotone, and staring at me unblinkingly. "Go get back in bed."

"What? Why?" I asked suddenly very confused. I expected some sort of comeback, not a timeout.

"Because I said so. Now go!" She pointed down the hallway, and after looking at her warily for a moment I complied and walked to her room. When she joined me I turned to look at her.

"Care to explain what exactly-"

"No. Bed." She pointed again, this time to her bed and gave me a heavy glare.

"Okay, okay…I'm going." I held my hands up in defense and backed up until I felt the edge of the mattress behind me before I turned my back on her. No telling what she was up to.

"Lay down." She commanded, moving her hands to her hips and walking around to the other side of the bed.

"Seriously, what are you planning?" I laughed skeptically, while leaning further and further back until I was lying in my spot from this morning.

"If you really _have_ to know, we're starting over." She said offhandedly, and climbed back down under the covers before moving towards me to snuggle against my chest. "Oh, ew." She said, wrinkling her nose and pulling back a bit. "You're wet." I chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, grow up. And close your eyes. You don't sleep with them open…" I obeyed whilst smirking and the two of us laid in silence for a minute or two.

"Am I allowed to wake up yet?" I murmured once my impatience got the better of me.

"If you really want to." She whispered, but she also moved her body so that her weight was leaning against me, and her head was in the crook of my bare neck and shoulder. "Then sure." She kissed the side of my jaw, letting her lips linger a little longer than they needed to. I paused and thought to myself over the decision. If I leave, then…well I leave. But if I stay, I've got Sonny here, who's now in a much better mood to keep me company; and yeah, we hadn't slept together yet, not saying that we were anytime soon, because we were fine with waiting for now, but that didn't mean we couldn't have a little fun during our…do-over.

"I'll stay." I said, trying to seem casual as I slipped my arms round her middle.

"Oh really? Who would have seen that coming?" She laughed softly.

"Well you know, I weighed my options, and it seemed like I'd get more from staying with you." I smiled and nuzzled her hair before pressing my lips against hers and rolling the two of us over so that I was slightly above her.

"Good choice." She whispered when I pulled away to allow us a moment to breath before attacking her again and peppering her with kisses from her lips down to her collar bone. A moment later her hands supped my chin and brought my face back up to hers so that she could capture my lips feverishly with her own, and I felt the both of us smile into our kiss. I let my fingers travel down to play against the skin at her thigh, where her t-shirt was again ridding up with her arms wrapped up around my neck and her hands now in my hair. I loved these moments, which were happening a lot more often as the week after the wedding went by, if only I never had to leave again. But, then it dawned on me.

"Sonny." I moaned against her lips, and gently pulled back to look at her face. Her dark eyes were twinkling with excitement, and her checks were flushed in the most beautiful way. "When are you coming back to LA?"

"Really? You interrupted us for that question?" She sighed and shifted underneigth me before thinking for a moment about her answer. "Probably once my album is done. Bill wants to promot it in LA since that's where most of my fans are based." She bit her lip and creased her eyebrows. "But I don't know when exactly it'll be."

"How many songs do you have?" I asked.

"Seven." She said slowly.

"And how many songs are on the average album?" She thought again.

"Around, eight or nine? At least for debut albums, they usually get longer the more the artist produces, but-"

"Sonny! I'm sorry, I hate to interrupt you, and you can absolutely finish that thought later, but I do have somewhere that I'm going with this I promise." Said, staring at her intently. "Where are you moving to when you go back?" I asked next.

"Um, I'm not sure. My mom's pretty happy being back here, and we already got rid of our apartment back in LA." She got a concerned look on her face as if this was the first time she had considered all of this.

"Well. I have something that I want to…propose to you then." I said slowly.

"Chad. Nu-uh. I love you and all of that, but no way are you allowed to propose to me. Not yet anyway." She said, with worry clouding her face, and I laughed quietly.

"No no, that's not what I was going to ask you. Not yet anyway." I smirked and her face relaxed. "I was going to offer…getting an apartment with you. You know, if you wanted." I suddenly felt much more nervous than I did when I started out with this big idea of mine. But my fear was quickly replaced when Sonny's face lit up and she beamed up at me excitedly.

"Really? Our own apartment? Chad," She gripped me tighter and laughed joyfully. "I love you." She pecked me quickly on the lips and went back to grinning.

"Yes really. You know, mines pretty small, only made to accommodate one person, but we could look around, find some three-bedroom apartment or townhouse somewhere and start there."

"Three bedrooms?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, you know, one for me, one for you, and one for…guests?" I laughed.

"Hmm. I'm good with one bedroom. We don't need guests, and I'm not sure I want to go back to sleeping alone." She smiled, and put on a fake seductive face making me roll my eyes.

"We should probably go for at least two." I said thoughtfully.

"Why?" She pouted.

"Because then, when my teasing goes too far, I won't end up on the couch." I winked.

"Oh, good plan." She nodded cheekily. "So, all I have to do is write another song then." She suddenly jumped up, and out of my arms to pad across the room and sit down at her desk. She took out a pencil and started tapping it against the wood impatiently. I rolled onto my back and propped myself up on my elbows.

"You're really just going to pound one out right now?"

"Well, I was hoping to." She said grimacing. "But, I have nothing."

"Then, how about you daydream about moving back to LA. That's what I'm doing…" I chuckled.

"You know, the media's going to have a field day." She said, and I could see it. Pictures taken from behind some bush of us carrying a couch through our new front door. Had to admit, it kind of made me laugh.

"Let them, it's our life. They just want to get into the middle of it." I saw Sonny nodding, and then the tapping changed rhythm, to have more of a purposeful beat that fell in sync with the movement of her head.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Shh!" She said. "Can you…go order pizza or something?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" I asked.

"Yes! Now go, I can't write down lyrics if you're interrupting my thoughts!" She groaned, ceasing her tapping and instead scribbling down on a piece of paper.

"Alright, alright. Let me know if you need anything. I'll be in the living room, watching House reruns." I pushed myself up and off the bed and jogged out of the room closing the door behind me carefully. I shook my head and stifled my laugh until I was safely in the kitchen and out of harm's way from Sonny's song-writing wrath. I'd give her two hours, then drop by her room with some pizza and a soda to make sure that she was still breathing and hadn't slipped into rhyming coma. Then I'd probably have to leave her alone for the rest of the night, listening to clips of lyrics, guitar chords, and frustrated page crumpling. I'll probably have to camp out on the couch tonight, but at least I was lucky.

When I sat down and flipped through the TV guide I found that just like every Sunday there was a House marathon on, which should last me until Sonny becomes human again. And if my luck continues, by this time tomorrow she'll be passed out across her paper stridden bed, with a finished song ready to be recorded.

**AN: So yeah, a little scattered I think, but can you see how I'm trying to wrap it up? I'm working on it I promise, I'll try to put together another chapter, but I'm going out of town at the end of this week and then I have friends coming to stay for I'm really not sure how long...lol**

**Cheers!**

**And thanks for reading!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


	23. Chapter 22 Gone Too Long

**AN: Okay, so yes. I've been gone for...too many months for me to count. And I _could _explain some good excuses; like a new school, moving houses twice in the last 6 months, crazy homework stess. If you really want to hear more about any of that, I might post more at the end of this chapter. But I'm just going to go with a lack of inspiration. I'm sure a lot of other writers on here would agree that it's really hard to keep writing for a story when the show it's based on itsn't on anymore. (I miss Channy) But I _am_ determined as of late to finish this story if it kills me; which will probably be one, maybe two at the most chapters long. Anyways, I'll let you get on with this. I was actually thrilled when I logged on for the first time in forever the other day and saw that I was still getting a couple recent reviews for this, so I hope someones reading!**

**P.S. I don't own this!**

Sonny's POV

I was in the zone, and even through there was a pile of crumpled paper in the waste basket and all over the rest of my room, I could tell that this time, I had the lyrics right. I'd gone through about ten different formats, and I had the tune written on sheet music, all that was left was the final tweaking to make the song flow.

I had taken my inspiration from the idea of moving on with my life, and the prospect of moving in with Chad once my album was put together and ready to be released. I bit my lip, the song might be a little agitated sounding, but I found myself thinking about how difficult it could be to try and live a normal life with paparatzzi throwing a field day over every little thing that happened in my relationship. I could see it now, front page news on tween weekly, Chad and I as the new couple officially making the big move.

A couple times while I was sitting there writing, I had to stop and take deep breaths, reminding myself that I was just channeling the frustration, ad that nothing had actually happened (yet) to make me so stressed out to think about getting mad at the rest of the world. Cheesy right?

I scribbled out another line and drew an arrow to move around an arrangement, officially making the page a mess and earning me another three pointer as I tossed the sheet into the waste basket.

"Oh my god, just be done already!" I groaned to myself, running both hands through my hair in frustration. "It's been two weeks, why can't I get this right? And why am I still talking to myself?" I stood up quickly and snatched my cell phone from where it had slid to the floor on an avalanche of sheet music. After a few rings a female voice picked up.

"Hey Sonny, what's up?" Sarah's chiming voice piped from the other end.

"I need good news. Anything. Something fun. Because if I don't get my mind off of this stupid song for just a little bit, I don't think I'll ever get it done." I perched on the end of my bed and waited for a reply.

"Well, hold on a sec." Sarah's voice sounded a little funny, like a huge smile was just spreading across her face. "I'm going to let your brother talk to you real quick."

"But I just needed a little-"

"Son?" David's gravelly vocals scratched through my cellphone.

"Hey Vid, what's up with Sarah? Everything alright?" I asked concerned.

"Yeah of course. She said you wanted a little good news, so do you want the great news, or the stupendous news first?" I could hear the same smile in his own voice now too.

"Um, surprise me." I chipped in.

"Guess who's going to be an aunt in eight months."

"No. Freaking. Way. Are you kidding me? Because if you are then you are the cruelest brother in the history of the universe…"

"No I'm not kidding! Isn't that crazy?" He sounded out of breath and just as excited (if not more) as I was.

"You're going to be a dad!" I shrieked.

"I know. This kid is going to be so messed up…" He groaned with a little added chuckle.

"But at least it'll have Sarah as a mom, that should at least keep it partially grounded to reality." I laughed and daydreamed about spending time with my little niece or nephew, personally, I felt this was going to be a little boy. The world might implode with another brown-haired, brown-eyed David running around, but he would defiantly be cute, as long as Sarah's genes were mixed in…

"Wait, what's the great news then?" I asked, suddenly remembering my earlier choice. "I'm assuming that was stupendous…"

"Right! I almost forgot. Since I didn't want my little baby sister to be living in a giant city with her boyfriend alone in a while, I started looking for a job in LA…"

"You didn't." I deadpanned.

"Oh, I did." I could imagine the sneer on his face. Stupid brothers.

"Don't worry Sonny, I made sure that the townhouse we're leasing out of walking distance from your apartment!" I heard Sarah pipe up from the background.

"You are an evil monster. I can't believe that you're seriously moving to another city just so you can creep on me! Why can't you just leave-"

"Just remember, Aunt Sonny, I'm always here for you." He laughed and then hung up before I could finish my rant.

Way to go Vid. You sure distracted me. Baby, spying brother. Life if good. Right? Who really knows. I dialed antoehr number into my phone, and heard Chad on the first ring.

"CDC, what'd it do?"

"I know you know it's me. Do you really have to answer like that?" I ask disgruntled.

"Shesh. It's a force of habit, sorry Sonny." He laughed. "I was just about to call you though, did you get those pictures of the apartment I sent you? I already put a down payment on it, so I hope you like it…"

"Yeah, I got them, and guess who's going to be our neighbors…"

"Alec Baldwin."

"No, I wish. It's not necessarily a good person to have as a neighbor." I said slowly.

"Zac Efron." He tried.

"Nope. Try, my brother."

"No."

"Yup." I said popping the 'p'.

"No…" He trailed off, as if imaging my brother borrowing a cup of suger and then punching him in the gut.

"Not like, next door neighbors. But, within the city neighbors…." I added.

"God Sonny, you couldn't have led with that? I was imaging your brother coming by to drop off mixed up mail and punching me in the gut on the way out." See? Close enough.

"That would be amusing." I laughed lightly.

"For you. So what, did he get a job offer or something?" Chad asked.

"So he says." I shook my head, still not over the effort David was putting into keeping an eye on me. "But that's not the best news."

"Oh no. Is he becoming an actor now? Going by D…something…M? Because that is just petty…" I had to cut him off before it got too ridiculous.

"No, no, no, Chad. This is legitimate good news." I got that stupid smile on my face remembering how excited David had sounded, and understanding how much fun it is to tell someone something so important.

"I'm listening," He said cautiously.

"Guess who's having a baby…" I heard a long pause and got confused when I didn't hear anything on the other line. "Chad?"

"It's, not you is it?" His voice was high and he sounded absolutely pitiful.

"No! Chad, come on. We haven't even slept together. It's David and Sarah!" I chuckled at Chad's panic. Honestly? Use your head hon, think it through.

"Oh thank god. I mean yes! That's awesome. So I get to be an uncle then?" His mood changed dramatically in the span of three seconds and I shook my head at his antics.

"Well, you aren't exactly related to this kid…" I said skeptically.

"And what? You think I'll be going somewhere in the next 70 to 87 years? Nope. So, I call being Uncle Chad." He said defiantly. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

"Okay, okay 'Uncle Chad'. You win." I rolled my eyes to myself.

"As usual. Make sure to tell Sarah and David I say congrats." I heard a crash on the other end of the line and jumped in voluntarily. "Shit…"

"What was that?" I asked worriedly.

"Nothing. I just…spilled paint." He said slowly, and I could tell he was hiding something.

"Really. You're painting?" I said skeptically. There was no way he would pick up a paintbrush without having a gun pointed to his head.

"Yes, I'm painting. You don't have to sound so surprised. I can take up a hobby if I want to." He snapped.

"Sure, but…painting?"

"Shut up. I don't have a lot of choices since you're not here to keep me occupied."

"Aw, that would have been sweet if you hadn't just implied that I was a hobby of yours." Times like these made me miss being with him, because I couldn't punch him to get my point across.

"You know I didn't mean that. And as much as I'd love to continue this argument, I have to…finish with this painting I'm doing. So, love you! See you after you finish that song…"

"Ugh. Don't remind me." I sighed.

"You can do it. Just go get a change of venue. Now, I seriously have to go…"

"Okay, okay. Love you, bye." And with that the phone clicked, ending the call. "Great, now I'm out of distractions." I complained. I sat back down at my desk with a thud.

A change of venue. I could go see that Channing Tatum movie, that might inspire me; if I was aiming for a song about beautiful abs. But for some reason I didn't get the feeling that that was the kind of song my audience was looking for. So I guess the next best thing might be the park down the street.

I grabbed a handful of sheet music, multiple pencils, my cell phone, and yanked my yellow iPod from its charger in the wall and tossed them all in my American Eagle bag by the end of my bed before packing my guitar into it's case and quickly padding across the hardwood floor to the front door.

I jammed my feet into a pair of converse and snatched my keys from the key-bowl and let myself out of the apartment. After a short jog down the stairs and 300 yards down the street I was back at the park Chad and I visited so long ago. I found a shady tree in the middle of the grassy field and plopped down underneath it.

"Okay, now would be the time for some inspiration…" I sing-songed to myself quietly. But while I sat still for three and a half minutes, nothing jumped out and made me want to write a song. So I reached out for my iPod, and put in my headphones while hitting play on the song "This is Home" by Switchfoot, which had recently become my favorite song simply because home was where I was trying to get to.

I leaned against the trunk of the tree and closed my eyes, breathing deeply and listening as closely to the lyrics as I could. I could almost feel myself be lulled to sleep when I was jolted awake by my phone vibrating angrily from my bag. I rubbed my eyes free from the blurriness of half-sleep and dug it out of the bottom.

When I slid it open to the text message that obviously needed my immediate attention, my heart ached a little when I saw Chad's name on the screen.

_Done yet? ;)_

And I felt my heart hurt even more; actually twice as much. It hurt because I had already told Chad that an over usage of smiley faces is why some people questioned his sexuality (kidding of course), and also because I wasn't done. Or even near being so. And I felt my frown deepen profusely as the tears that had been hiding slowly slipped forward. I dropped my head, letting them fall because I felt so stranded at the moment.

However, when a sob escaped my throat, my attention was grabbed by a flash I saw out of the corner of my eye.

I slowly peered up from where the light had come from and saw a group of people gathered at the edge of the walkway through the park, snapping as many pictures as they could. People with camera phones, a couple tourists with colorful point and shoots, and at least four plainly dressed guys with heavy duty professional "spy-cam's" as my friends and I had taken to describing the paparazzi's weapon of choice.

"Not today." I groaned, and I jumped up hurriedly, scrambling to shove everything I had brought with me into the bag and after swinging the bag over my arm and picking up my guitar case I took off towards an opening in the hoard of people standing on the walkway.

"Excuse me." I tried to say politely while pushing past people in my escape.

"Hey! Since you're single now, how about we get together?" Some faceless guy in the crowd yelled out. But I'd learned fast that you do not respond to questions thrown out to you unless an answer is rehearsed. When you say something stupid and it gets out everywhere, you never know if you're suddenly going to be known as a puppy hater. That wasn't another problem I needed on my list.

Soon enough I was out of ear and eye shot of the camera fiends, and able to take a minute to breathe. I would not be getting any more work done today.

**Okay, awkward ending I know. I haven't been doing much creative writing at all lately; it's all current event reports for history class, essays in english etc. I'm really wanting to get back into it because I really love getting to escape reality, even for just a little while. I totally forgot how much I loved getting to just sit down and wLike I said, I promise to finish this story; I probably won't be coming back at a regular updating pace though. This is where I say please leave a review, and let me know how _you_ want to see this story end. I truely, truely want to hear your ideas because you are who this story is for. The next/maybe last chapter will be up as soon as I can write it!**

**Cheers!**

**RedHeaded4Always**


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